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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29505861">Blood Bound</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/emsly6454/pseuds/emsly6454'>emsly6454</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, F/M, Fluff and Smut, Hogwarts Eighth Year, Implied/Referenced Drug Addiction, Jealousy, Occlumency (Harry Potter), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Post-War</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-05-16</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 04:28:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>50,209</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29505861</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/emsly6454/pseuds/emsly6454</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Struggling with the consequences of the war, Hermione distances herself from the rest of the Golden Trio and returns to Hogwarts as Head Girl. Surrounded by constant noise, she finds her quiet in the company of the annoying blonde-haired Head Boy.</p>
<p>Draco Malfoy is trapped behind his occlumency walls. Having kept them up for so long during the war, he can't bring himself to take them down. The only person who manages to get behind his walls just so happens to be bushy-haired Hermione Granger.<br/>As each-other's only hope, can the two get along long enough to fix their problems?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hermione Granger/Draco Malfoy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>73</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Prima</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Sitting alone in her train compartment, Hermione stared out the window at the Scottish landscape absentmindedly while she dragged her thumb across the fore-edge of the book in her hands. Truthfully, she hadn't read the book the entire ride or in the two weeks prior to her trip when she picked it up from Flourish and Blotts. If someone were to ask her what it was about, she wouldn't be able to tell them. She hadn't even read the blurb on the back before she purchased it, but the sound the pages had made when she dragged her thumb across them, had produced the first ounce of genuine comfort she had felt since the day after the final battle.</p>
<p>A soft knock on her compartment door brought her out of her thoughts and she took a deep breath as the door rolled open to reveal a young boy -who looked to be probably in his third year- nervously bouncing on his toes as he informed her the Head's meeting was happening now before the train was to arrive in half an hour.</p>
<p>With a quick <em>thank you </em>and a forced smile, she dismissed the boy and turned away as he left running down the narrow hall <em>to go tell his friends about how he met war heroine Hermione Granger and it was SO fun she's SO nice</em>. Once the door to her compartment was safely shut and locked, she shucked off her woolen Weasley jumper and tucked it into her trunk with her denims before she donned her uniform and of Hogwarts robes. Fastening her tie and pinning her head girl badge to the front, she downed a numbing potion and chased it with a few generous sips from the small flask she kept tucked into her bra before braving the world beyond the compartment door.</p>
<p>"Ah Miss Granger, punctual as always" greeted professor McGonagall when she slipped into the Headmistress' office in the first train car. "So nice to see you've chosen to return this year, it is a shame Mister Weasley and Mister Potter did not choose to return with you". The professor offered Hermione a warm but tight smile and gestured with the slightest of nods for her to take her seat in one of the two chairs opposite her at her desk.</p>
<p>"You as well Headmistress, Harry and Ron send their regards" was all she gave in response, conversation was tedious for her nowadays since she knows everything everybody says before the words come out of their mouth.</p>
<p>"Of course" the headmistress nodded in acknowledgement, pursing her lips in at her short reply which really wasn't necessary since her disappointment was rolling off her in waves. "Well the head boy should be arriving momentarily and then we can begin our portion of the meeting before we call in the prefects". As the words left McGonagall's lips, the door to the compartment slid open with an obnoxious squeak that grated on every one of Hermione's remaining nerves.</p>
<p>She instantly confused when Ernie didn't immediately commence his usually babbling, so she turned herself in her chair to see if he had actually walked into the compartment or if someone had just opened the door in passing. She barely managed to keep her jaw from falling open in confusion when her gaze met a pair of cold steel coloured eyes instead of the warm chocolate ones she had anticipated.</p>
<p>"Mister Malfoy thank you for joining us to promptly, as I'm sure Mister Weedly informed you our previous candidate for head boy Mister Macmillan last minute decided to withdraw himself from the Head position for personal reasons." The headmistress surprisingly greeted Malfoy just as warmly as she had greeted the Golden Girl herself moments earlier, at which Hermione's jaw did fall open in shock. The professor didn't even like Malfoy before he almost killed Dumbledore and let death eaters into the school -not that she held it against him- so seeing the headmistress be so <em>nice </em>was flooring.</p>
<p>Trying her best to reign in her emotions and put an end to what she is confident was a very impressive impersonation of a goldfish, she turned back to face the headmistress as Malfoy took the seat next to her without a word. As he sat, Malfoy nodded once to Hermione in greeting meeting her eyes so briefly it might have not even happened, then turned his attention to the headmistress.</p>
<p><em>Malfoy came back to Hogwarts? He's head boy? How? Why did Ernie drop out last minute? Why is Malfoy acting so calm? They're being so pleasant to one another? </em>Her internal monologue was running rampant with a million questions as she listened to the Headmistress ramble on about the head duties and expectations and such. Out of her peripheral vision, she watched Malfoy sit and listen to McGonagall talk. He seemed different but she couldn't figure out why. He still had that same aristocratic air about him that only someone born with more money than they could possibly spend in 4 lifetimes had but he seemed less arrogant and more sullen, if she were the type to believe in divination and auras she would think his had gotten significantly duller since she'd last seen him at his trial.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>"Miss Granger, I must express my shock to yourself and the wizengamot in regards to seeing your name on the list of character witnesses. You are a recipient of an Order of Merlin First class, why are you vouching for Mr. Malfoy's innocence when he bears the dark mark?" The prosecution's attorney was in front of the podium looking up at Hermione where she stood in her Ministry appropriate pencil skirt and blouse. She wobbled a bit on the blasted heels Ginny had forced her to wear and non-verbally cast another stabilizing charm before turning her attention to the prosecution.</p>
<p>"Well, sir, if you had listened to the introduction that the defense presented a few moments ago you would know that I am in fact not here to vouch for Mr. Malfoy's<em>innocence</em>." Hermione could not help but give a stern glare to the prosecuting attorney, he really was quite terrible, he hadn't even introduced himself to the court by name and he had spent the last 10 minutes thinking solely about his blasted shoes. "If you had been paying attention to something other than the scuff on your left shoe that nobody would have noticed had you not been staring so intently, you would have heard that I am in fact here to vouch that Mr. Malfoy should not be punished for the crimes he committed as a minor who was suffering under emotional duress and the threat of death." Fixing him with another glare, -who had the decency to look sufficiently scolded- she began collecting her blazer jacket and briefcase before she turned to nod respectfully at the Wizengamot and then to Malfoy where he sat in the cage in the middle of the courtroom before she walked out of the room.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>
  <em>Present – September 1, 1998</em>
</p>
<p>The train arrived at Hogwarts as the sun was setting on the horizon. Hermione took the liberty to take another numbing potion and a calming draught in the thestral carriage. <em>So many more people can see them now than before the war </em>she thought absently, absorbing all the thoughts of students around her who's opinions on the creatures ranged from<em>scary </em>and <em>ugly </em>to <em>ethereal</em>. With a snort to herself, she wagered a guess that that last opinion came from a Hufflepuff as she made sure her flask was safely tucked into the cup of her bra when the carriage came to a halt. Taking one last deep breath and preparing herself for what awaited her outside of the carriage, she swing the door open and stepped out.</p>
<p>"Mione! There you are!" In a flash of red hair and freckles Ginny came running up and looped their arms together, leaning dramatically on her shoulder as she whined "Why didn't you sit with Luna, Neville and I for the carriage ride? Neville got all sad about it being our last first day and then Luna started on about how his negative attitude was going to attract <em>Nargles</em>of all things and then she tried to give me one of those bloody butterbeer cork necklace things! I mean you know I love Luna with my whole heart but I just cannot-"</p>
<p>"Ginny" she cut her off, knowing she would go on the entire walk to the great hall if she didn't stop her. "If I promise to give you the password to my head's dorm so you can use the Floo to secretly visit whichever famous quidditch player you're currently shagging on weekends, will you stop whining?" At the mention of secret rendezvous with her latest rebound, Ginny snapped her mouth shut and walked silently. When Hermione risked a glance to her fiery-haired friend she stopped walking at the sight of her self-satisfied smirk.</p>
<p>"That was your plan all along wasn't it?" she stated more than asked. At Ginny's laugh, she shook her head with a sigh. Resuming their walk to the great she glanced over at her friend again, she looked so happy, the two made eye contact.</p>
<p>Looking at Ginny was a mistake, such a bloody mistake. <em>Does she ever think about anything other than shagging? Do people actually shag bent out of sorts like that? It can't be comfortable. There isn't enough numbing potion and alcohol in all of Wizarding London to rid me of that memory. Merlin have mercy somebody obliviate me.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>--</em>
</p>
<p>Draco walked into the great hall feeling nothing but indifference. His classmates wore a variety of expressions including nostalgia, sadness, reminiscence and the likes but all he felt was blank and occaisonally angry. The feeling of danger that had swept into his life with the Dark Lord had never gone away even after his death, and so neither did Draco's occlumency safety net. Taking his seat across from Blaise and Theo between Goyle and Pansy, he offered his friends a nod of acknowledgement before turning his eyes down to his empty plate and resuming his thoughts.</p>
<p>He would have bet all the money in his vaults that he had felt the probing of legilimency earlier if he didn't know that was impossible. He knew for a fact that McGonagall wasn't a legilimens, and Granger was a talented witch -he'd never tell her that of course - but legillemency didn't agree with those who weren't naturally inclined to the charm. <em>Maybe it's just paranoia </em>he reasoned with himself, <em>there's no more Dark Lord nobody wants to read your sodding mind anymore</em>. After his internal scolding, Draco turned his attention back to his friends where they were talking about the school year.</p>
<p>"Aye Malfoy are you going out for quidditch this year?" Blaise brought him into the conversation when he realized he had pulled himself from his thoughts. When he just gave a noncommittal shrug in response, Blaise continued "I overheard a bunch of 5thand 6thyears on the train that were on the team before take bets that you were gonna be captain."</p>
<p>"Well I suppose I can't disappoint the kiddos now can I?" Draco plastered on a smirk as he spun his wand between his fingers. The thought of getting on a broom for no reason other than fun for the first time in two years should have sent a jolt of excitement through him, but all he felt was not-angry. "Plus-" he continued to his friends, his smirk growing as he spoke "with no more boy-who-lived-then-died-then-broke-his-glasses-then-lived playing for the Gryffindorks, we'll take the quidditch cup for Slytherin before the rest of those dopes have even mounted their brooms."</p>
<p>The three boys sitting with him all clapped him on the shoulder and cheered for their soon-to-be captain, drawing the attention of other tables in the hall. When his gaze roamed from his friends to the others sitting at the various tables, they immediately met a pair of honey-brown eyes at the Gryffindor table. He would recognize those eyes anywhere, they starred in almost every one of his nightmares. Burned into the back of his eyelids since he saw them staring up at him from the floor of his drawing room that day.</p>
<p>Something about Hermione's eyes set the hairs on the back of his neck standing up, they looked tired and pained, red rimmed with the glossy finish that he recognized from when he used to use Firewhiskey to numb the pain of one too many <em>cruico</em>'s in a row. When theirs eyes met, Draco was certain he felt the prodding of legilimency against his occlumency walls again at the base of his skull. Narrowing his eyes and lifting his lip into a sneer, he broke their eye contact and turned his attention to removing Pansy from where she had latched herself to his side like a barnacle.</p>
<p>With an exasperated grunt he managed to dislodge her nails from his bicep and take his leave from the table to make his way to the Head's dorm for some reprieve. <em>Today has been bloody long and I don't intend to experience anymore of it, well at least definitely not with my wits about me.</em>With the thought of getting lost in the bottom of a very deep bottle, he sauntered through the halls, not caring in the slightest that he was missing the sorting or McGonagall's welcome speech.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>"Georgia Plumbly" A small blonde girl with oversized robes took her seat on the stool, her wide eyes scanning the room anxiously as the Sorting hat was placed on her head. The hat didn't cover her eyes soon enough, and Hermione was unfortunate to make eye contact in time to witness the young girl beg to be put in Hufflepuff because <em>all the other houses are way too scary</em>. The hat obliged and the girl made her way to her new table sporting her newly yellow tie.</p>
<p>About four students later – 2 Ravenclaws, a Slytherin, and a Gryffindor- Hermione completely zoned out of the sorting, clapping absently when Ginny did next to her. Instead she opted to let her mind and eyes wander to all the students around her.</p>
<p>
  <em>Another bloody Slytherin great.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I wonder if I'll get in trouble if I transfigure my skirt shorter.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>What if I can't figure out the riddle to get in the common room?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>How do the elves always make the pumpkin pasties so good?</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I wish Seamus would notice me, I learned new glamour charms so he would.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Maybe Daphne would be down for a first-day-at-Hogwarts shag.</em>
</p>
<p>Hermione snorted aloud at that thought which was practically projecting itself at her from Theodore Nott at the Slytherin table. Her outburst earned her a confused look from Ginny and a dreamy absent smile from Luna, both of whom she smiled apologetically at before continuing her scan of the room. There were more of the same thoughts. Blaise was wondering if he could hustle some more galleons out of Goyle at exploding snap before the git caught on, and Pansy was wondering if <em>Drakey-poo </em>had noticed that she changed her perfume. That last one earned an eye roll from Hermione. When she made eye contact with Malfoy however, there was nothing, not even a whisper of a thought it was just quiet. He broke their eye contact with a sneer in her direction before he left the Great Hall completely.</p>
<p>Turning her attention back to her friends that sat around her, she tried her very best to focus on the words coming out of Neville's mouth and ignore that he was absently singing the bloody sorting hat song in his head. <em>Lovely that's definitely going to be the soundtrack to my dreams tonight thanks Nev.</em></p>
<p>The walk back to her Head's dorm immediately after dinner was hell, her numbing potion had worn off a good 20 minutes ago and the effort to not pass out or scream was causing sweat to pour down her back and bead on her forehead. With the numbing potions, reading everyone's minds isn't so bad; mostly annoying and a little uncomfortable when you learn things you don't want to. Without the numbing potions however it was agonizing, the pressure of being bombarded by the complete consciousness of everyone she made eye contact with was enough to make her consider turning her wand on herself.</p>
<p>Praying Malfoy was in the Slytherin common room or literally anywhere but their shared dorm, she quickly whispered the password <em>primrose </em>to the portrait and practically threw herself into the common room before she rushed to the three doors on the left side of the room to find the one with her name on it.</p>
<p>Falling into her dorm in her haste to get behind the safety of closed doors, Hermione threw her sweat-soaked robes off into a pile on the floor and rummaged through her trunk to find a potion, any potion. Grasping the vial of lavender coloured <em>dreamless sleep </em>she downed it, not caring that it was barely 8 in the evening. Climbing into her bed still in her skirt and camisole, she barely had time to kick her shoes off before falling into a state of blissful unconsciousness.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p><em>She's finally gone barmy </em>Draco thought to himself as he sat on one of the sofas in their shared common room. He'd been peacefully watching the bluebell flames in the fireplace nursing a very old bottle of Dragon Barrel Brandy he had swiped from the Manor's cellar when the crazy bint had come running in all sweaty and looking like she'd been chased by a group of Hags.</p>
<p><em>Whatever, sooner she goes as Looney as Lovegood the sooner I never have to hear her swotty little voice and I'll get the whole head's dorm to myself. </em>The thought of Granger wandering the halls barefoot with Loony brought a sardonic smirk to his lips. He took another swig of brandy from the bottle as he imagined the two talking utter nonsense "<em>why Luna I don't believe the nargles are nearly as bad as the wrackspurts this time of year, wouldn't you agree?" </em>The thought of Granger uttering any of those words made him snort as he continued to drink himself into a stupor in front of the fire.</p>
<p>It was still dark out when Draco woke up, no surprise there. What was a surprise was that it wasn't a nightmare that woke him up this time. The copious amounts of alcohol he'd had before retiring to his room had ensured the nightmares wouldn't wake him, meaning he was extra confused as to why he'd abruptly gone from dead asleep to wide awake in less than a heartbeat. His question was answered quickly as an ear-piercing scream broke the silence of the nighttime.</p>
<p>"No, please, I don't know what you're talking about. I've never been to your vault. Please, please ,PLEASE, NO!" he seriously considered casting a silencing charm over her room and leaving her to her nightmare, but he knew what she was dreaming about and since he couldn't change his actions -or lack thereof- of that day, he might as well save her from her nightmare <em>seems only fair</em>.</p>
<p>Picking up his wand and making his way out into the hall, Draco opened her bedroom door and stood at the threshold. He uttered a quiet <em>augmenti </em>and angled his wand towards her so the cold water hit her square on the face and chest. Immediately Granger stopped screaming and sat up, looking confused and fairly pathetic with tear-stained cheeks. It was enough that he almost wanted to comfort her, almost.</p>
<p>"W-what the fuck Malfoy?" She stuttered, clearly not putting the pieces together in her head very quickly.</p>
<p>Leaning against her door frame, he smirked. "Next time you decide to have a nightmare Granger, try casting a silencing spell first so that the rest of the world can get to sleep instead of listening to you screech like a banshee." He wasn't sure why he said what he did, he of all people knew what it was like to have nightmares about the war. <em>She's just so bloody annoying its impossible to be nice; with her stupid frizzy hair and those stupid giant teeth and her nipples showing through her wet t-shirt -wait-</em></p>
<p>Cutting himself off and shoving that thought very far to the back of his mind, he turned on his heel to return to his room, leaving a very wet, very confused Hermione staring at the space in her doorway he had occupied.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>When she woke up the next morning, Hermione was still wet as her sleep potion had knocked her out again not too long after Malfoy had woken her from her nightmare. Her teeth chattered together as she reached for her wand to check the time 5:18 <em>great I only have 3 hours to kill before classes today </em>she thought with a roll of her eyes.</p>
<p>With a heavy sigh and a mental curse at Malfoy for probably giving her a cold now that she had slept in wet blankets, she rolled out of bed and made her way to the bathroom to warm up with a shower. When the scalding water rolled over her shoulders and down her body, she felt the ache and tension in her muscles melt away. Hermione had never liked the mornings but lately she couldn't help but love the quiet, nobody else was ever awake as early as she was and it gave her psyche a reprieve from the daily assault.</p>
<p>Standing in the shower, she allowed her mind to wander to her latest dilemma that was her uncontrolled ability to read every single person's thoughts without discretion. It had been entertaining for all of 5 minutes until it turned to the months-long headache it now was. She had broken up with Ron after accidentally viewing a sex dream he had about Pansy bloody Parkinson of all people and had promptly dumped him the next morning. She wanted nothing to do romantically with Ronald I-have-sex-dreams-about-Pugface-Parkinson Weasley, so she ended the relationship with an agreement to still be friends and moved out of the Burrow and into Grimmauld Place with Harry. That peace had lasted all of one day before Hermione had caught a preview of Harry's daydream that made it difficult for her to look him in the eye even now. However, his breakup with Ginny had made a lot more sense afterwards.</p>
<p>Letting out a frustrated groan she leaned her forehead against the shower wall as she thought about all the things she had learned about people that she wished could be <em>obliviate</em>'d from her brain. There were days when she actually considered lobotomizing herself with her wand, especially the day she had made the mistake of making eye contact with Hagrid when Harry asked him about Madame Maxime. The memory made her shudder in horror.</p>
<p>The problem wasn't that she didn't want to be a legilimens, but that she literally could not turn it off, one millisecond of accidental eye contact and Hermione had a glance at every internal thought the person had for an uncontrollable amount of time even after she looked away. Not only was it exhausting using this much magic accidentally all the time, but the onslaught of multiple people's conscious thoughts at once was enough to give any witch a killer headache. Numbing potions only lasted so long and she'd had to start brewing her own because the healers at St.Mungos accused her of being an addict weeks ago.</p>
<p>She hadn't disclosed her issue with anybody, scared they would be offended or angry that she was reading their minds without consent or worse that they would think her incapable of handling a legilimens charm. All in all, Hermione was fucked and there weren't enough substances in the world to make that better, but damn if she wasn't going to try.</p>
<p>Getting out of the shower, she checked her wand for the time -<em>6:02 fantastic- </em>before she went about fixing her hair with a drying charm and a quick <em>crinus muto </em>to semi straighten her hair into a manageable wave texture. Making her way back to her room meant walking past Malfoy's door which was very much closed and silent, suggesting he was still fast asleep<em>lucky prat gets to wake up warm and dry unlike I did</em>.</p>
<p>Once she was dressed in her skirt and blouse, she figured with over an hour until classes, she had time to brew another batch of numbing potion before she was expected to make an appearance at breakfast. Another glance at the clock when she was about done brewing gave Hermione an idea that brought a wicked smile to her lips.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Socius</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Draco was having a lovely dream courtesy of Astoria Greengrass whom had informed him the day prior on the train that she had learned a new flexibility charm. In his dream, Astoria was demonstrating to him how she could actually get her leg around –</p>
<p>"What the bloody hell" he woke up with a shout, his upper body soaked and his lower body feeling extremely frustrated that his dream was interrupted.</p>
<p>"Morning Malfoy" fucking Granger was lounging against his door frame, looking every part the cat who caught the canary as she wound a piece of her hair around her wand.</p>
<p>"Granger, there is exactly one reason I invite women into my bedroom and it is not to be doused with freezing water first thing in the morning" his voice came out practically as a growl. Granger should be counting her lucky stars that he left his wand on the other side of the room last night.</p>
<p>"Well-" she stood up from the doorframe spinning around and continuing over her shoulder "since you were such a gentleman last night and woke me from my nightmare, I figured I could return the favour. Classes start in 20 minutes and you're bound to be late if you don't get up now. You're welcome" She tossed the tail-end of her statement over her shoulder as she walked out of the common room into the rest of the castle.</p>
<p>"I'm going kill that fucking swot" he seethed. Checking the time on his wand, <em>the stupid bint was right </em>he only had 17 minutes until class now. Throwing on the same robes he wore yesterday, He shrugged his bag onto one shoulder and <em>accio</em>-d an apple from the fruit bowl in the kitchen as he made his way through the castle to Advanced Potion Making in the dungeons.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>"Only 5 minutes early for class Mione? That's like being late for you" Ginny teased as she took her seat next to the red-head. A quick scan around the class showed that the small number of students meant all four houses were present.</p>
<p>"Ugh I know Gin" Hermione started, clearly not catching the teasing tone of her friend's words. "It's these stupid heels that came with my uniform, I haven't worn anything other than trainers for two years so I had a right blast trying to get down 5 bloody flights of stairs in them."</p>
<p>"Don't have to tell me twice Mione, I had to walk from the seventh floor remember?" The two exchanged sympathetic glances before turning their attention to the door as Professor Slughorn walked in, followed closely by a flustered looking Malfoy.</p>
<p>"Good morning students -cutting it close Mister Malfoy- and welcome to Advanced Potion Making" Slughorn greeted as he went to stand in front of a large cauldron in the middle of the room. Malfoy took his seat next to Theodore Nott and scowled at Hermione before turning his attention to his potions book. The pissed look on his face brought a smile to hers, <em>now we're even Malfoy </em>she thought as she turned her attention back to the professor.</p>
<p>"Seeing as this is your N.E.W.T year, Professor Babbling and I have decided to assign a joint-studies project between our two classes." There was a collective groan from the students as Slughorn continued. "Later today when you attend your ancient runes class, yourself and your partner -whom I will be assigning at the end of class- will be given a translation of a strong curse that you are expected to transcribe for her class, and for this class you will be expected to brew the counter-potion for the curse you translated. Any questions?"</p>
<p>Ginny's hand shot up. "Professor, why would we brew a counter-curse potion instead of just performing a counter-spell?"</p>
<p>"Excellent question Miss Weasley!" Poor Gin was definitely getting an invitation to his next Slug-Club party if the look on Slughorn's face was anything to go by. "How one goes about breaking a curse depends on the type of curse. Stronger ones such as blood maledictions and contagious curses require more potent magic than wand-work, thus we utilize potions either on their own or along with a spell."</p>
<p>Seeing as she already knew all of this and her numbing potion was still working quite well <em>I did a fantastic job on this brew, I'll have to check my notes to see what I did different, </em>it seemed safe to entertain herself for a while and see what everyone else was thinking about. <em>I mean it's 9 in the morning I'm sure everyone's thoughts should be relatively appropriate. </em>With that reassuring thought, she turned her gaze up from her potions book and caught the eye of Dean Thomas across the room. He was wondering <em>if anyone can see Seamus and I holding hands under the desk </em>which was just adorable she always reckoned Dean and Seamus were awfully close, even for best friends. Apparently however, she was wrong for thinking everyone would be thinking about potions class in potions class. The next set of eyes she met happened to belong to Theodore Nott who was re-living his welcome-back-to-Hogwarts-shag that Daphne evidently had been down for last night. <em>Note to self: Never look at Nott again it gets more disturbing every time. </em>Having had her fill of invading her classmates' thoughts for the day, Hermione turned her eyes down to her book. There was a note from Ginny sitting on it.</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Why is Malfoy glaring at you more than usual today?</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>Looking up, she had to cover her hand to stifle her laugh when she realized that he was in fact unashamedly scowling at her from across the room.</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Apparently he's not a morning person, I'll tell you at lunch.</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>Ginny pouted when she read her response obviously wanting the story now, but nonetheless she returned her attention to where Professor Slughorn was droning on about the benefit of using fresh versus dried hemlock when brewing Doxycide.</p>
<p>"Ok everyone seeing as time is almost up, I will be telling you who your partners will be for your project this term. Remember to sit beside them in Ancient Runes later so you can receive your translation." Everyone simultaneously perked up at the premise of class being dismissed soon. "Pairs will be as follows: Finnigan and Greengrass, Thomas and Goldstein, Weasley and Boot, Patil and Abbott, Granger and Malfoy, Bones and Nott. Before any of you ask no I will not be reconsidering partners, you have been paired with those expected to receive the same N.E.W.T scores as you in order to encourage equal partnership." There was a collective groan around the entire room that Hermione felt inclined to join in on, <em>as if living with Malfoy isn't bad enough</em>. Slughorn dismissed the class and she walked alongside Ginny to DADA. Pretty much everyone in 7th and 8th year had the same schedule with the exception of potions and ancient runes, which were available only to those who received at least six O's on their O.W.L.S.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Walking into DADA, Draco took a seat at the very back of the classroom with Blaise and Goyle on one side of him, Theo and Pansy on the other. He was barely listening to his friends' chatter; he never cared much for Hogwarts gossip and that was before Snake-Face had branded him like cattle, safe to say that he could care less if older Greengrass slept in her bed last night or not.</p>
<p>"Drake agrees with me Blaise, don't you Drakey-poo?" <em>Fucking Pansy</em>he thought with a barely restrained grimace when she reached her hand over to rest just above his mark.</p>
<p>"Pansy you are even dumber than Goyle if you can't see that Theo is literally grinning like the Cheshire cat over there and put two and two together. Salazar I don't even live in the Slytherin dorms anymore and I know Greengrass was too busy being pressed into Nott's mattress to go back to her own dorm last night." His annoyance at the dark-haired witch caused him to snap at her instead of the calm tone he'd been going for. She didn't seem to notice, being too preoccupied looking at Theo with a horrified expression. Theo's shrug was enough confirmation for Pansy to huff and get up to walk over to the witch in question where she was sitting with Bullstrode and Davis.</p>
<p>"Aye Zabini, did Malfoy tell you he got stuck with the Golden swot for our potions project? Bloody hilarious if you ask me" Theo leaned back in his chair with his feet on the desk as he turned his attention to their other friend, interrupting his ogling of some Ravenclaw who's skirt left very little to the imagination.</p>
<p>"In fact Nott he didn't, can you imagine that?" Zabini's smirk rivalled Nott's now. <em>Why I choose to be friends with these gits is beyond me</em>.</p>
<p>"Nott I have been sitting in this chair for no more than four minutes, forgive me for not wanting to talk about Granger all the time. Salazar knows it's bad enough having to share a dorm with her." The irritation in his voice bled through his cool demeanor once again at the mention of his roommate, memories of his rude-awakening this morning still fresh on his mind.</p>
<p>"Quit acting weird Malfoy, we all know you love taking the piss out of any member of the moronic Trio. You're going soft"</p>
<p>"Hey Nott? Shut the fuck up."</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>"Mione I can NOT believe you actually <em>augamenti</em>'d Malfoy while he was sleeping and lived to tell the tale" Ginny was cackling so hard she almost fell off her seat across the table.</p>
<p>"Don't be so dramatic Gin, I think I can handle myself when it comes to Malfoy. Plus it was revenge, he <em>augamenti</em>'d me first" She responded indignantly and took another bite of her lunch. "Now hurry up and eat your potatoes I want to get to Ancient Runes before him; if I can't pick who I have to sit with all year I most certainly am picking where I sit.</p>
<p>"Okay, okay I'll be done in a minute don't ditch me" while her friend was preoccupied shoveling the last of her food into her mouth in an impressive impersonation of Ron, Hermione slipped a numbing potion into her pumpkin juice and downed it before the two girls left the hall together.</p>
<p>To her shock, Malfoy was already in the Runes classroom when they arrived despite them being there a good 10 minutes before they had to be. With a pout to Ginny, the girls parted ways as her friend went and took a seat at an empty desk in the middle of class while she went to join her blonde partner at his desk in the very front row.</p>
<p>"Malfoy"</p>
<p>"Granger"</p>
<p>Conversation between the two ended after greetings. Leaving them to stew in tense silence while she took her parchment, ink and quill out of her bag and arranged them carefully on the desk, up until Hermione noticed him shaking his head slightly with a smirk.</p>
<p>"Something funny to you Malfoy?" She turned her head to bare her teeth in a very un-Hermione sneer as she spat the question at him. <em>It's been barely five minutes and he's under my skin, how am I supposed to last all year?</em></p>
<p>"Speak when spoken to Granger" was all he said in response, not even bothering to lift his gaze from where he was spinning his wand in his hand.</p>
<p>"Excuse me? You must have me confused with one of your prissy little Slytherins if you think you can talk to me like that Malfoy." <em>Oh I'm going to rip his head off before this class is over, forget the rest of the year.</em></p>
<p>"I'm not confused Granger, I just don't want to have to hear your voice unless absolutely necessary. Hence, speak when spoken to." His voice was flat and expressionless as he spoke, still refusing to look anywhere but his wand. <em>What I wouldn't give to snap it in half in front of his stupid face.</em></p>
<p>She was pretty certain her blood was actually boiling she was so pissed <em>how dare he have the audacity to treat me like some half-brained bimbo </em>but whatever she was going to say back to him died on her tongue as Professor Babbling walked out of her office.</p>
<p>"Afternoon everybody, I see that you have all sat with your partners, wonderful. I'll be handing out your translations now. I expect you all to work in your pairs outside of class time to do your translations just as you will be expected to brew your potions on your own time as well."</p>
<p>As Babbling continued talking -<em>figures that Babbling babbles- </em>she became begrudgingly grateful to Malfoy for choosing the front row of desks. At least with nobody in front of her except the professor, the risk of accidentally slipping into somebody's thoughts was significantly lower.</p>
<p>The rest of the day dragged on, interrupted only by the occasional need to slip into the bathroom for a numbing potion or a shot from her flask. <em>If 6thyear me could see me now -going to classes half-drunk- I think she would have a heart attack, oh how times change. </em>Hermione spent just enough time at dinner to appease her friends before she excused herself from the table and fled to the quiet safety of her dorm.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p><em>Day one over, too fucking many to go </em>Draco thought to himself as he broke the seal on a bottle of firewhiskey and settled into the couch to watch the fire for another night. He was about a quarter of a way in when he heard the door to the common room open and then footsteps.</p>
<p>"Granger"</p>
<p>She settled into the chaise beside his, kicking off her shoes and tucking her feet under her. "Speak when spoken to Malfoy" she chirped as she swiped the bottle from his hands and poured a generous amount into a glass she <em>accio</em>'d from the kitchen.</p>
<p>"Last time I checked, I didn't invite you to drink with me" he snipped, snatching the bottle from her hand and drinking right from it.</p>
<p>"That's unsanitary Malfoy you have a glass right next to you" <em>oh so she's just going to ignore whatever I say anyways, bloody fantastic</em>.</p>
<p>"If it will encourage you to leave me alone and drink your own firewhiskey, then I think I prefer drinking from the bottle"</p>
<p>Throwing the rest of her drink back in a very un-Granger fashion, she snagged the bottle back from him and drank from it before re-filling her glass. "Last time I checked actually, it was you who was scared of my mudblood germs, I don't think pureblood supremacy is contagious."</p>
<p>When he got the bottle back he made a point to cast a <em>scourgify </em>on it before he filled his cup and set it back on the small table between the two chairs.</p>
<p>"If you're going to insist on invading my space and drinking my alcohol, can you at least do it in silence?" he asked exasperatedly, the witch always manages to get under his skin with so little effort.</p>
<p>"You're the one who keeps talking Malfoy" was all she said in response, not looking up from where she was swirling the dark liquid around in her glass.</p>
<p>The two sat in silence for an hour or so. When the bottle was empty, they stood from their seats and headed to their rooms.</p>
<p>"Let's not make a habit of this Granger, I don't fancy funding your alcoholism for the entire year" his voice cracked a tiny bit from having not spoken for so long and his head felt light from the firewhiskey.</p>
<p>"We both know you could fund my alcoholism for my entire lifetime and not make a dent in your vault but sure thing Malfoy" Granger was swaying on her feet a bit and leaned heavily on her door when she reached it.</p>
<p>Walking into his room, he couldn't let her have the last word. Right before he closed his door he corrected her "vaults actually, I have more than one."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Puellas Nocte</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Ginny was leaning against the wall waiting for her outside of the common room entrance when she left for breakfast on Friday morning.</p>
<p>"Morning Gin, why didn't you meet me in the Great Hall, or at least send me a <em>patronus </em>to let you in so you didn't have to wait for me?" She greeted the younger girl, who seemed to be half-asleep where she was standing. The two girls began their walk to the Great Hall, neither in an exceptional hurry to get to their destination just yet.</p>
<p>"I didn't meet you in the Hall because I have something to tell you on the way there. I didn't mind waiting, I'm way too tired to cast a <em>patronus </em>this morning. Pavarti kept me up half the night talking, I think she thinks I'm going to be her new Lavender." Hermione flinched at the memory of her classmate being mauled to death in front of her.</p>
<p>"You said there was something you wanted to tell me?" She prompted, eager to change the conversation.</p>
<p>"Oh yeah, so don't be mad because I only did it without asking because I knew you would say no and you aren't allowed to say anything except 'yes Gin that sounds lovely I can't wait' or else I will be forced to pull the <em>I got dumped by The Chosen One</em>card." She fixed her friend with a disapproving frown, making sure to look just to the right of her to avoid eye contact.</p>
<p>"What did you do Ginevra?"</p>
<p>"Woah now the use of my first name seems a little overly-hostile it's nothing bad"</p>
<p>"Ginny-"</p>
<p>"I told Luna that we'll be hosting our girl's night in your dorm tonight instead of Gryffindor tower and to tell the other girls, we'll be there at curfew"</p>
<p>"It's Friday, don't you have to sneak out and shag your quidditch player? Plus I have patrol tonight. It won't work Gin, sorry." Her words earned her an annoyed half-sigh half-snort from the red-head.</p>
<p>"Firstly; I had to stop answering <em>my quidditch player</em>-who has a name by the way- because he kept trying to take me to dinner-"</p>
<p>"I know he has a name" She interrupted her friend "however you've never bothered to tell me what it is. Please do educate me as to why a dinner invite is a bad thing."</p>
<p>It was Ginny's turn to give her a disapproving frown. "no more interrupting" she scolded playfully "dinner is a bad thing because I have already done the <em>girlfriend to a famous person </em>thing and I quite prefer not being a weekly feature in the Daily Prophet thank you." Hermione hummed in understanding but didn't speak, sensing her friend was not done.</p>
<p>"Where was I again? Ah yes. Secondly; ask Malfoy to take your patrol tonight or just give the students of Hogwarts a night to break the rules I don't particularly care but this is tradition and you're not getting out of it. Thirdly; Luna is bringing faerie wine AND she and Neville took a field trip to the back of Greenhouse 3 yesterday." The two girls exchanged knowing grins before sobering their expressions as they passed a group of 3rdyear Hufflepuffs.</p>
<p>"Alright fine" she caved to which her companion gave a victorious fist pump "but you're in charge of asking the elves for snacks. The password is <em>primrose, </em>you and Luna can put all the stuff in the common room during our free block."</p>
<p>"And where will you be that you can't help us set up?" Ginny looked genuinely curious now.</p>
<p>"I'll be in the library, sucking up to Malfoy and simultaneously murdering my pride." The thought of owing the Head Boy anything caused her mild nausea but she wouldn't disappoint the girls.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>When he returned to his room from his morning shower the dorm was vacant of annoying brunettes and there was a note taped to the outside of his bedroom door.</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Malfoy,</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Runes Project during free Block. Library, Herbology section.</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Don't be late.</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>HJG</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p><em>Great, she's even annoying and bossy in writing. </em>Throwing Granger's note in the waste-bin beside his desk, he went about getting ready for classes. Opting for a black t-shirt under his robes instead of the typical dress. It was abnormally warm for Scottish autumn and he didn't fancy sweating through his uniform during elective Herbology this afternoon. Tucking his books into his bag, he shouldered it and headed to breakfast.</p>
<p>Zabini and Nott were already sitting at the Slytherin table when he walked into the Great Hall. "Gentlemen" he greeted the two, taking his seat across the table from them.</p>
<p>"Mornin Malfoy" Nott quipped around his mouthful of toast.</p>
<p>"You're repulsive Nott" he drawled, adding honey to his tea and putting a muffin onto his plate.</p>
<p>"No need to lie Malfoy, we both know you're just dying to take a bite out of me" his brunette friend replied with a suggestive grin and a wink in his direction. Zabini chuckled under his breath, while Draco just scowled at his friend's suggestion.</p>
<p>"I'd sooner waltz with a dementor but you can keep the idea for your wank-bank Nott" he retorted, causing Zabini to choke on his bite of eggs while Nott just huffed in defeat and turn back to his breakfast. Turning to his attention to his other friend he continued talking "also Zabini I won't be able to practice flying drills during free block, I have to go to the library for the stupid potions project with Granger."</p>
<p>"Careful Malfoy she's already turning you into a proper swot, first week isn't over yet and you're already going to the library." Zabini taunted to which he groaned in nonverbal agreement and brought his head down to bury in the crook of his elbow.</p>
<p>"Don't I fucking know it mate, but I figure the sooner this project is over the sooner she becomes less of a pain in my arse." He mumbled from where his head was still resting on the table.</p>
<p>"Seems unlikely, you do have to live with her all year." Nott pointed out not-so-helpfully.</p>
<p>"Trust me, I fucking know." He emphasized his point by lifting his head slightly and dropping it back into his arm with a dull thud.</p>
<p>"What's she like to live with anyways? Does she walk around in her knickers? I bet they're the plain white cotton kind." He probed, looking a little too invested in Granger's underwear choice for Draco's liking.</p>
<p>"Nott if you could kindly keep your hypotheses about Granger's knickers to herself that would be lovely thank you" Zabini cut him off before their friend could get too carried away.</p>
<p>"I have no idea what kind of knickers she wears and I pray to Salazar that I never find out. We don't see much of each other, mutual avoidance and such. She does take bloody long showers though, almost made me late the other day because I had to wait 'till she was done to brush my teeth." The three got up from their breakfast table and headed to class.</p>
<p>"I dunno why you're praying to Salazar mate, Granger's pretty fit" Nott drawled, his gaze not-so-subtly roaming the Gryffindor table as he spoke.</p>
<p>"You're disgusting Nott, go shag Daphne again I think your hormones are clouding your judgement" he sneered at him as he shouldered his bag. The conversation dissolved as the three walked out of the Great Hall to their first class, his two friends still chuckling beside him.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p><em>He's late </em>she thought to herself as she sat at her regular table in the library. She'd come right from lunch and had been working for almost 10 minutes already, and Malfoy had yet to show. <em>Ah think of the devil and he shall appear </em>she thought to herself as he waltzed into view from around a bookshelf as she lifted her eyes to check the time again. Their gazes met long enough for Hermione to cringe in preparation for whatever thoughts she was about to be bombarded with. <em>Nothing again, maybe he really is that empty-headed</em>. She chuckled under her breath at her own joke as he took his seat across the table from her and undid his robe to lay it over the back of his chair. Under his robe he wasn't wearing the uniform button-down, but rather a plain black t-shirt. The part of his attire she found curious wasn't his blatant disregard for uniform rules, but rather the solid black athletic arm band he was wearing on his left arm. It covered the entirety of his left forearm, from his wrist to just below his elbow.</p>
<p>"Feel free to take a picture Granger, it'll last much longer" he mocked, crossing his arms across his chest. She'd been staring.</p>
<p>"What's with the arm band Malfoy? Trying out a new look? If so I don't think it's working. You should go back to the three-piece-suit style, much more Malfoy-esque." He fixed her with a look that just screamed <em>are you fucking stupid </em>before he used his right hand to push the band down to scrunch at his wrist. "Oh" was all she said as his dark mark came into view.<em> It really is ugly no wonder he covers it up </em>she thought to herself, averting her eyes as she shuddered a bit.</p>
<p>"Believe it or not I tend to get a lot less attention for the arm band than I do for the Mark" he commented as he pulled the band back up over his arm, she could hear the annoyance in his words but his tone and facial expression were both completely blank. "Anything else you would like to comment about my appearance for the day? Would you like to see my <em>sectumsempra</em>scars as well? Or can we actually work on the project, which I thought was the whole reason we're both here. I don't fancy having to spend the entire afternoon chatting." His scowl was back now.</p>
<p>"Right, So I'm thinking the best way to go about this is for me to do the first half of the translation and you can do the second? Then we can combine them for context and tweak them anywhere we need to after" She focused on the two pages of translation in front of her, handing the second one across the table to him.</p>
<p>He gave a grunt of acknowledgement but didn't say anything in response, just stated writing on the parchment in front of him. With a roll of her eyes at his stubborn demeanor, she turned her attention to her parchment and got to work.</p>
<p>Thirty minutes or so later, Malfoy put the lid on his ink pot and began to tuck all his things back into his bag.</p>
<p>"What are you doing? Free block is a double for seventh and eighth years we should get as much of this done as we can-" she asked sharply. <em>No way am I letting him get away with making me do both our parts of the project</em>she thought indignantly.</p>
<p>"Relax Granger don't get your knickers in a twist. I have class" he interrupted her.</p>
<p>"But-"</p>
<p>"'But seventh and eighth years have double free block', that's true <em>unless</em>you're taking an elective class not required for N.E.W.T.S" He interrupted her <em>again</em>.</p>
<p>"What elective are you taking?" She asked, genuinely curious as to his answer. She knew he hated Care of Magical Creatures after the Buckbeak incidence and she couldn't imagine him sitting through a Muggle Studies class. <em>Maybe Divination</em>she hypothesized.</p>
<p>"Herbology. Now are we done 20 questions? I really have had enough of your presence and your voice is giving me a headache." He shrugged his robes back over his shoulders and wet about fastening them.</p>
<p>"Actually Malfoy I was wondering if you could do me a favour and take the patrol tonight? I have plans with some friends that I can't get out of." She was already regretting asking him, she should have just done the patrol herself and missed the sleepover.</p>
<p>"What's in it for me?" He asked, a smug look on his face.</p>
<p>"I won't take points from Slytherin for a week" she offered, rolling her eyes at him.</p>
<p>"Make it a month, and you have to take over my detention duty on Wednesday night" he countered, his smirk only grew as he realized how much she wanted out of this patrol.</p>
<p>"Two weeks, and I'll take the detention shift" she raised an eyebrow at him as she spoke, indicating this was as good as he was going to get.</p>
<p>He shouldered his bag, appearing as though he was thinking deeply about her offer. "Truthfully I would've settled for the week of no points, but you've got yourself a deal Granger." He quipped, throwing a triumphant look her way he turned and stalked off before she could say anything else.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Herbology was bloody hot. Even in just his t-shirt and trousers he was sweating profusely as he attempted to trim the venomous tentacula bushes and collect the leaves. He was still sweating when he arrived at the great hall for dinner. Before he had a chance to sit down, Nott and Zabini crowded him on either side.</p>
<p>"Take your dinner to go tonight Malfoy, we're going to the quidditch pitch" Nott quipped, dragging him along with him as he skipped <em>-yes skipped- </em>out of the hall. Zabini broke off from the other two towards the dungeon to gather the boys' brooms from the dorm while the other two headed to the Head's dorm to get Draco's broom and so he could change out of his uniform.</p>
<p>"Remind me again why you felt the need to escort me to my own room?" he asked as they made their way up the moving stairs.</p>
<p>"Because-" he responded cheerfully "if you go get your broom on your own, you're going to show up to the pitch smashed and I don't fancy having to catch you when you fall off your broom" Nott chirped beside him. He never thought it possible for someone to be so annoyingly cheerful all the time, up until he befriended Theodore Nott.</p>
<p>He growled quietly at the slight but otherwise said nothing; they both knew he was right. The entrance to the Head's room opened when he whispered the password -<em>who chooses primrose as a password, bloody stupid-</em> but stopped dead at the heinous sight that greeted his eyes inside the door. Red and Gold, everywhere. Pillows, blankets, streamers, even the bloody cookies were frosted with red and gold. His abrupt stop caused Nott to crash into his back in the doorway.</p>
<p>"Oh my sweet Salazar my eyes are bleeding" Nott exclaimed, pushing around him to get into the common room.</p>
<p>"Granger" he yelled into the empty-looking dorm "why the fuck does our common room look like an advert for Gryffindor pride." The longer he looked around the room the worse it got. Theo settled himself on a maroon coloured sofa -<em>she fucking charmed the furniture- </em>and snagged a cookie off the table.</p>
<p>"Granger isn't here yet Malfoy" female Weasley walked out of the bathroom, swatting Nott's hand as he reached for a second cookie "those aren't for you" she scolded.</p>
<p>"Who exactly are they for Weaslette?" He asked, he subtly tapped his wand to the chaise he sat on the arm of and charmed it emerald with a nonverbal <em>colovaria</em>.</p>
<p>"Isn't it obvious Malfoy?" she asked with a wicked grin "it's girls' night, we're having a slumber party." He groaned in response and maneuvered through the piles of pillows and blankets to his bedroom. Snagging his quidditch gear and broom he hurried out of the room, eager to get out of the Gryffindor nightmare his dorm has become.</p>
<p>"Do I even want to know how many Gryffindors are going to be in here later?" He asked, already dreading the answer.</p>
<p>"Hmm only three, and two Ravenclaws and maybe I'll throw in a Hufflepuff or two" she retorted, looking far too amused for a Weasley forced to converse with a Malfoy.</p>
<p>"Ah so it's only the Slytherins you're excluding from your little party?" Nott piped up from where he was still lounging on the sofa, which to Draco's satisfaction he'd charmed a dark green at some point.</p>
<p>"Actually we've invited the Slytherin girls every year, they just never come because they're snobs just like the rest of you snakes." She corrected, seating herself on another couch adjacent to him.</p>
<p>"Ooh and the claws come out to play, I dig it" Nott replied, throwing her a flirty wink to which she lifted her lips in a sneer. "You know Malfoy, gingers are always wild in bed."</p>
<p>"Speak from experience do you?" She asked with a deviously sweet smile "I didn't know your hand was a redhead." Malfoy snorted at the affronted look on his face at her words.</p>
<p>"C'mon Nott. As much as I enjoy watching you attempt to seduce Weaslette here, we better leave before you shove your foot in the mouth even further." He said as he dragged him off the couch by his robes, shoving him out of the common room. "I'm staying in the dungeons tonight, tell Granger that the room better look normal when I get back tomorrow morning or I'm going to permanently <em>colovaria</em> the entire room to Slytherin pride." Calling the last bit over his shoulder, he shut the common room door behind him with a loud thud.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Pugna</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Draco walked into the 8th year dormitory behind his two friends. Zabini beelined to the washroom to hang up their rain soaked quidditch gear while Nott threw himself on his bed. He leaned himself against the wall as he drank from his water bottle. <em>I haven't been this bloody wiped in years, I'm seriously out of practice </em>he thought to himself absently.</p>
<p>"Tell me again mate why you're bunking in the dungeons with us when you could be sleeping in your cozy Head's dorm?" Zabini asked as he walked back out of the bathroom. "I mean I could see how you might find Granger intimidating but that's no reason to run from her" he teased.</p>
<p>"I'm not running Zabini" he remarked. "I just don't particularly enjoy the idea of being in a confined area with the entire female population of Dumbledore's sodding Army." Draco sat on the empty bed in the dormitory with a huff.</p>
<p>"Don't listen to a word he says, you didn't see how fast he ran from the she-weasel when we were in the Head's dorm earlier, he was bloody terrified. I don't blame him one bit, that much red and gold can't be healthy for the eyes. Although I may be willing to risk it if I had it on good confidence that said female population was going to be hanging around in their knickers" Nott chimed in from where he lounged on his bed, book in hand.</p>
<p>"Nott you have an unhealthy obsession with knickers, you need to get your head checked" he told his friend, crinkling his nose in disgust. "Can we please just have one night where we don't have to talk about Granger or any war heroes?" He asked his friends "I propose we drink ourselves stupid instead, are you two in?</p>
<p>The two of them cheered in agreement. Zabini went about pulling a bottle of firewhiskey out from under his bed while Nott collected three cups from the common area. The three lifted their glasses in cheers before Nott spoke again.</p>
<p>"Here's to drinking away our troubles, until tomorrow mates"</p>
<p>"Until tomorrow" he and Zabini chimed together. They all threw their drinks back in one go before pouring another round.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Hermione stopped outside of the entrance to the common room and leaned against the wall. She would be lying if she said she wasn't apprehensive, this was the first girls' night they'd hosted since before the war. So much was different now. She took a deep breath, a pain potion, and a few healthy sips from her flask before righting herself and mentally reminding herself to avoid eye contact at all costs. That's how Ginny found her; standing outside her common room door looking extremely nervous.</p>
<p>"Mione! What the hell are you doing standing out here? Everyone else is inside already, we've all been waiting for you before we start the real fun!" she exclaimed, dragging her into the room by the wrist excitedly.</p>
<p>"Okay okay I'm coming Gin relax. I was in the Library getting ahead on work in preparation for the horrible hangover I'm undoubtedly going to have tomorrow" she grinned at her friend.</p>
<p>All the girls in the room cheered when the two entered and someone shoved a bottle of faerie wine in her hand. Taking a swig, she turned to all the girls in the room. The war they'd lived through showed in all of them. It wasn't so hard to tell the twins apart anymore; Pavarti was missing a pinky finger and Padma had a large scar on her cheek from a stray curse she'd caught at the battle. There were dark circles under the eyes of Susan Bones and Hannah Abbott, probably from nightmares; pretty much everybody had nightmares once in a while. Ginny had a thin scar through her eyebrow from being thrown through a window and she walked with the slightest of limps from where her foot had been broken and healed poorly. They all wore their consequences of the war with pride, except Hermione; she kept hers hidden under long-sleeve shirts and behind potions.</p>
<p>Shrugging off her melancholy, she raised her bottle of wine towards them and announced "to the last girls' night at Hogwarts!" they all cheered excitedly before dissolving into giggles and conversation.</p>
<p>Some while later, the girls had all collected into a large circle in the centre of the room. They were talking excitedly about the party being held in the Room of Requirement after the first quidditch game of the season.</p>
<p>"Alright ladies! Luna brought us all a present courtesy of Neville!" Ginny shouted over the noise. She held up a glass jar of the pre-rolled joints.</p>
<p>"Oh yes he's quite excited about this batch. He added powdered dragon claw to the soil and watered it with essence of daisyroot, I expect that the effects should be quite extraordinary" Luna chimed in from where she sat swaying to a non-existent tune.</p>
<p>"Well we can't disappoint Neville now can we?" Ginny chirped, already having handed the first one she'd lit to Cho while she lit another with her wand. The girls all laughed as they passed around the drugs, soon dissolving into more conversation and laughter.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>The sun was far too bright for Hermione's eyes the next morning. Her head was pounding and the room spun slightly when she sat up from where she slept on the floor. She laid back down with a loud groan when her hangover kicked in with a vengeance once she was fully awake. Ginny was snoring beside her and Luna was humming in her sleep on her other side. The rest of the girls were sleeping throughout the common room. Dragging herself up from her place on the floor, she decided she was in desperate need of a shower and headed to the bathroom. Inspecting her reflection in the mirror she actually had to laugh at herself quietly, <em>I look bloody awful oh my God</em>. Her makeup from the day before had smudged terribly in her sleep so that she closely resembled a raccoon, her hair was a disaster with knots and there was something that vaguely resembled frosting caked in the tresses. The most comical part of her appearance was most definitely her attire however, she must have attempted to change out of her uniform at some point last night because she was wearing athletic shorts and a camisole, additionally she was still wearing her knee socks and tie. With a final giggle at her looks, she undrressed and got into the shower.</p>
<p>When she emerged from the bathroom she still felt horribly hungover, her next course of action was going to be coffee. The girls were all awake when she walked back into the common room in a fresh pair of pajamas.</p>
<p>"Morning Ladies, would anyone like to enlighten me as to exactly what we got up to last night after Neville's present? Because I can't remember a thing" she laughed as she walked in and headed to the kitchen to put the coffee on as well as a pot of tea.</p>
<p>"That's what we were just talking about Mione" Hannah said from where she sat hugging a pillow in front of the fire "none of us remember anything after we smoked."</p>
<p>"I suspect it has something to do with the daisyroot essence" Luna piped up, she was now sitting on the sofa rather than the floor.</p>
<p>"Bloody fabulous" she muttered to herself as she went about preparing the trays and levitating them into the sitting area for everybody.</p>
<p>"I'm going to guess by the state of the common room and the fact that all of us look like we spent the evening wrestling Devil's snare that we must have had fun at least" Ginny mused, grinning brightly and looking very not-hungover to Hermione's envy. The girls all giggled in agreement before they fell into a comfortable silence to drink their teas and coffees.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>It was late afternoon when Draco finally woke up, he felt suspiciously okay considering how much firewhiskey the three of them had consumed last night. Even before Goyle had returned to the dorm and produced a bottle of Knotgrass Mead he'd swiped from one of the younger years he was anticipating a wicked hangover.</p>
<p>"Ah look who's finally joined the world of the living" Zabini drawled from where he was laying on his bed, absentmindedly directing conjured birds to fly in intricate patterns above his head.</p>
<p>"Morning to you too mate" he responded "any guesses as to why I don't feel like I've been beaten by a troll? From what I remember from last night I should be feeling bloody awful right about now" he queried apprehensively.</p>
<p>"My theory-" Nott chimed in as he entered from the hallway, arms loaded with muffins and croissants "is that you're probably still drunk." His friend started to pass the carbs around the room before he tossed a sober-up potion over. "I reckon you'll feel significantly worse once you drink that."</p>
<p>He downed the potion before he ripped open a muffin and they all ate in silence.</p>
<p>"Want to go flying some more today?" Nott broke the silence "My keeper skills could use a bit more refreshing and the chasers seem too scared of the <em>big bad death eater </em>to actually try and score on me at practice."</p>
<p>Draco snorted "more like the <em>itty bitty baby death eater</em>" he imitated his not-so-dearly departed aunt as he taunted his friend. His teasing earned him a hearty laugh from Zabini and a croissant in the face from Nott, well it would have hit him in the face if his reflexes hadn't been so fast. "Terrible throw Nott really, no wonder you're keeper, you would never make it as a chaser." He threw the pastry back at his friend "and an even worse seeker with those reflexes" he added on as the croissant hit his friend in the side of the head, leaving crumbs in his hair. "But yes, I could go for a fly. Later though, my hangover is demanding a very strong cup of tea and some very greasy breakfast right about now" he joked.</p>
<p>"I think if I smell bacon I may keel over and die so you're on your own on the breakfast front mate, but we'll meet at the pitch at dusk?" Zabini offered. They all grunted in agreement.</p>
<p>He bid his friends farewell with assurances that he'll show up to the pitch sober -<em>seems unlikely- </em>and headed back to his dorm, praying that the place was back to normal by now. <em>Wouldn't much mind having to uphold my threat though, the room would look much better with a whole lot more green and silver in the colour scheme </em>he thought to himself as he walked.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Hermione had just finished charming all of the furniture and decorations back to their original colours and was in the kitchen cleaning the dishes when Malfoy came into the dorm. She hadn't seen him outside of classes since they'd worked on their project earlier in the week. Their mutual ignoring was working quite well, each pretending the other didn't exist.</p>
<p>"Morning Malfoy" she greeted, turning in his direction as she spoke "you look extra terrible this morning, get in a tiff with a hag on your way in?" she teased him, a smirk growing on her lips as she spoke. He looked just as terrible as she felt, maybe he was horribly hungover too.</p>
<p>"You're one to speak Granger, your hair looks like a family of doxies spent the evening nesting in it" he snipped, his tone flat and his eyes blank as usual.</p>
<p>"That was weak even for you Malfoy" she snarked back, her hangover was still throbbing in the back of her mind and it was making her unreasonably irritable.</p>
<p>"What Granger? Why would you want me to do better? Now that Weasel and Potter finally realized you're not worth keeping around have you become so desperate that you'd stand there and ask me to taunt you? Is that it?" He mocked her, a malicious sneer plastered on his face.</p>
<p>"Fuck you Malfoy, really living up to your family name aren't you? You're just like your sodding father" She sneered back to him, baring her teeth. Ron and Harry were a bit of a tender subject for her still, the three had been awkward at best lately and her abrupt decision to go back to Hogwarts instead of joining them at auror training had not gone over well.</p>
<p>Anger flared in his eyes at her words and from her peripheral vision she saw his fists clench and unclench in quick succession. "Don't you dare compare me to my father you stupid bint. At least I still have family to speak of." He snarled at her. "That's right, I heard all about how you stupidly <em>obliviate</em>'d the only people in the world who would willingly put up with you." He took a step closer to her as he spoke but she held her ground.</p>
<p>"You have no idea what you're talking about" she rasped, she could feel her eyes burning with tears but refused to give him the satisfaction of knowing he got under her skin.</p>
<p>"Oh but I think I do-" he remarked. "You did the merciful thing and rid those poor muggles of the knowledge of your existence, too bad you didn't finish the job and do it for the rest of us too. I know I'd pay a handful of galleons to never know of your existence."</p>
<p>"You're vile Malfoy" was all she said in response, she could hear her voice cracking and she really didn't want to break down in front of him. As she went to walk past him to the refuge of her room he stepped in her path, effectively trapping her in.</p>
<p>"Are you going to cry?" he asked mockingly, his eyes were burning and for the first time, Hermione thought he actually looked <em>dangerous</em>. "Go ahead Granger you can. Cry like the pathetic little mudblood you are."</p>
<p>Before she had time to process her actions, her hand had come up of its own volition and struck him across the face. Her palm stung as his head snapped to the side, a bright pink handprint blooming on his cheek.</p>
<p>"That-" his voice was deadly calm as he took a step in her direction, she took a reflexive step back in response "was a very bad decision" he kept walking towards her, forcing her backwards through the kitchen until her back hit the counter "you little mudblood bitch." He was towering over her now, his hands braced on the counter on either side of her.</p>
<p>She leaned back as far as she could to put space between the two. He was so close she could feel his heartbeat where their chests touched and she could see in his eyes the moment he snapped out of his anger. The moment she made eye contact she saw the molten swirling pools of silver turned back to their usual cold and flat grey colour. He stood up straight and took a few steps back before he spoke again.</p>
<p>"That's twice now you've hit me Granger. Don't let there be a third time, or I won't be so kind about it" he warned. There was something about his tone that assured her that his words were not an empty threat. With that he turned on his heel and stalked out of the room. It wasn't until she heard his bedroom door slam that Hermione let out the breath she hadn't realized she had been holding. Snapping back to reality she had a realization; <em>I didn't hear anything when I looked in his eyes again</em>. <em>Why is he different from everybody else?</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Meretrix</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She couldn't find Malfoy anywhere. The prat was actually avoiding her. Apart from during class and in the Great Hall at meal-times, she hadn't seen him since she'd struck him over two weeks ago. He'd even gone as far as to <em>disillusion</em> himself when she'd tried to corner him outside of DADA a few days ago. He had changed the prefect patrol schedules without telling her and putting her on patrol with Pansy Parkinson, which she had a few choice words at him for; she wouldn't have minded had he swapped with literally anybody else.</p>
<p>It was getting fucking annoying. If anything, she should be the one avoiding him after all the shit he'd said to her in the kitchen that afternoon not the other way around. It wasn't like she was hunting him down because she enjoyed his company, she needed answers. Why can't I hear his thoughts like everyone else?</p>
<p>When she walked back into her bedroom the day before the first trip to Hogsmeade of the year, she found his half of their translation project slid under her door. <em>That fucking coward</em> she thought angrily to herself, <em>can't even manage to face me for our project</em>. She didn't even know why he was avoiding her, it's not like he ever went out of his way to stay away after any other time. Even the first time she'd hit him back in third year, the next day he'd been back to teasing her and her friends. She couldn't for the life of her figure out what was so different this time around, but she knew she needed to talk to him sooner rather than later.</p>
<p>As she dressed she came up with a plan to talk to him after the prefects meeting tonight. She decided to skip breakfast this morning since she only had time to either go to the Great Hall or brew more pain potion.</p>
<p>She was hunched over the cauldron mid-way through her brewing when he walked into the common room, she looked up from the cloudy liquid and met his eyes from across the room where he was giving her a deadly glare. When their gazes met he flinched -<em>he actually fucking flinched</em>- before he turned away from her and rushed to his room.</p>
<p>She looked back down to her potion and continued brewing. <em>Nothing again</em> she noted mentally, that was at least three times now she'd made eye contact with him and hadn't been unwillingly subjected to his thoughts. <em>Something about him must be different, what is it?</em> She pondered to herself. She was so lost in her thoughts she didn't even notice when he left his room until the sound of the common room door closing shut behind him startled her from her thoughts.</p>
<p>Looking up at the clock, she realized she'd lost track of time. She was going to be late to potions if she didn't leave right now. <em>Shit</em>. She <em>accio</em>'d her bag from her room, snagged her robes off the chair and hurried to class.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>He'd been avoiding Granger like the plague. She was relentless in trying to confront him. He couldn't figure out what she was playing at trying to get into his head, so he resorted to hiding from her until he could. He was certain it was her now who was trying to use legilemency on him, there'd been too many instances where he'd felt it in her company to deny it. Even just this morning before class she'd tried again.</p>
<p><em>Does she want to throw me back into Azkaban?</em> He wondered to himself as he walked into potions and took his seat beside Blaise. That theory didn't make sense; if she wanted him locked away, she could have left him to rot the first time around instead of testifying on his behalf with Saint Potter.</p>
<p>The other question that was eating away at him was how she got so good at legillemency in the first place. Typically unless someone was from a bloodline skilled in such mind charms, they took years or even decades to be able to invade another's consciousness so subtly. In an untrained or new legilimens the pain should be extreme. It wasn't like that with her. Each time Granger tried to get in his head it was like a gentle probe at his occlumency walls, encouraging him to let it in. That level of skill should take a witch like her a lifetime to perfect, if ever. He was certain if he'd not been so familiar with the sensation of having his mind invaded by the Dark Lord, he probably wouldn't have even noticed her there at all.<em> Guess the old snake wasn't completely useless </em>he thought bitterly to himself.</p>
<p>Draco felt her enter the classroom, even without meeting her eyes his occlumency could sense the presence of legilemency. <em>How is she casting the spell wandlessly and non-verbally so consistently?</em> She must be using an exceptional amount of magic to keep it up. He would be impressed if he wasn't so preoccupied feeling on-edge.</p>
<p>Thus, the avoiding of her at all costs for the past few weeks. He'd changed his schedule completely, getting up before the sun rose to sneak out of the dorm before she woke and returning long after midnight. He'd taken to spending his free time in the Room of hidden things or the Herbology greenhouses to ensure he wouldn't accidentally run into her in the halls. Hell, he'd even swapped patrols with Pansy and done his rounds with Blaise instead.</p>
<p>He knew he wouldn't be able to avoid her anymore however, there was a prefect meeting tonight to discuss the first Hogsmeade trip tomorrow and the planning for the Halloween ball. If he thought he could get away with skipping the meeting he would, but one of the conditions of his parole was he had to uphold his duties as Head Boy along with a long list of other bullshit. He'd still take Granger over the dementors any day, but just barely.</p>
<p>He spent the entirety of his day coasting through his classes and spent more of his energy hypothesizing reasons why Granger wanted inside his head than he did pretending to listen to the professors. Ancient Runes was uncomfortable, he kept his gaze glued to the parchment he was not writing notes on while she looked sideways at him every few minutes as though she wanted to say something. By the time Herbology rolled around, he was thanking not only Salazar but Helena, Helga and even Godric that he had a block guaranteed to be Granger free.</p>
<p>His praise to the founders turned to cursing them the second he saw the dreaded frizzy-haired witch leaning against Greenhouse two. He seriously considered skipping the class, if it wasn't for the fact that he needed an O in this class for his apprenticeship after Hogwarts he would have turned on the spot and walked away. Instead he settled on walking directly by her, making his way into the greenhouse to deposit his things and collect his tools without acknowledging her presence.</p>
<p>He was putting on his protective gloves to prepare the Mandrake plants for the second year class when she walked into the greenhouse behind him.</p>
<p>"Malfoy" she called, standing a generous distance away as though he might lash out at her. <em>Smart witch, I just might</em> he thought to himself.</p>
<p>"What do you want Granger, I have things to do." He replied curtly, turning towards her. He was in the midst of mentally inforcing his occlumency walls when he noticed she was wearing mirrored sunglasses.<em> If she wants in my head so badly, why is she covering her eyes? </em>The witch got more and more confusing by the hour it seemed.</p>
<p>"I just wanted to make sure you're coming to the prefect meeting tonight, it's mandatory" her tone was uncharacteristically soft, the typical swotty tone absent from her words.</p>
<p>"It is being held in our common room last time I checked, I'll be there." He silently hoped his dismissive tone was clear enough for her to get the message and bugger off.</p>
<p>She nodded wordlessly before she left the greenhouse. When she shut the door behind her Draco released an exasperated sigh, leaned his forearms on the work-bench and bowed his head. He didn't understand his co-Head at all, and it was becoming exceedingly frustrating and unsettling. With a physical shake of his head to try and rid his thoughts of her, he went about his to-do list that had been left for him by Professor Sprout. He was grateful he was one of only four upper year students taking Advanced Herbology, it meant he was often left to his own devices to complete tasks or assignments in peace.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Everything was ready for the prefect meeting except Hermione. She'd put out snacks and refreshments, made sure there were enough seats for everyone, written the itinerary on a conjured dry-erase board and anything else she could think of. She had spent so much time making sure the room was ready that she had neglected to prepare herself. Looking at the clock, she only had five minutes until everyone was due to arrive. Running quickly to her room she changed out of her uniform into a pair of comfortable denims and an old quidditch jersey she'd stolen from one of the Weasleys when she'd been living at the Burrow -though she didn't know which since she'd never bothered to learn all of their numbers- and threw her hair into a quick bun, held in place with her wand.</p>
<p>She silently cursed herself when the common room door opened -<em>I forgot to take a pain potion shit</em>- and someone walked in. She let out an audible sigh of relief when Malfoy's blonde head came into view. He looked distraught when he realized he was the first to arrive but she ignored him and jumped up to fetch a vial of the light blue liquid from her bag on the floor.</p>
<p>From her peripheral vision she watched as he looked suspiciously at the bottle and raised a questioning eyebrow at her when she unstoppered it and drank the whole thing. Tossing the empty vial back into her bag, she returned back to where she'd been sitting on the side-table near the fireplace. Risking a glance at Malfoy, his mouth was slightly agape, like he wanted to say something but couldn't quite get the words out. She raised an eyebrow at him before turning her attention to fiddling with a quill as prefects started to trickle into the room and take their seats.</p>
<p>Once everyone had seated themselves and the initial greetings were out of the way; Hermione started the meeting, wanting to get this over with as soon as possible.</p>
<p>"Alright now that everyone is here let's get started, as I'm sure you all know the first Hogsmeade trip is tomorrow afternoon and all prefects are required to patrol for one hour and the rest of the time you can do whatever you like. Although I'm sure you all would like either the first or last hour of patrol, those time slots have been allocated to the upper years as per usual. The entire schedule has been posted on the bulletin and we've kept you all with your usual patrol partners. Malfoy and I will be on patrol the entire trip for the younger students so if there's any issues you can come and find us or any of the professors." She looked quickly around the room at the prefects who all seemed exceedingly bored, frankly she couldn't blame them.</p>
<p>Deciding to switch to a topic more of them were likely to be interested in, Hermione took her wand out of her bun, letting her hair fall over her shoulders, and tapped it to the dry erase board to reveal the list of themes she'd started on for the upcoming dance.</p>
<p>"We have decided to throw a Halloween ball for fifth years and up in order to boost inter-house relations and also to bring new traditions from the school." she started, she was actually semi-excited for this event, Halloween was one of the holidays she dreaded the least. "It's being left up to the prefects to decide on a theme for the ball. I've listed a few ideas on the board but you can choose anything you like so long as everybody agrees and it gets approved by the headmistress. We'll be deciding on a theme at the next meeting to propose to McGonagall, which is two weeks from today and we can move forward with decorations and such then."</p>
<p>The prefects discussed amongst themselves about ideas for the Halloween dance for a while before she decided to dismiss the group.</p>
<p>"If anyone has any questions or wants to discuss anything in private, Malfoy and I will be here for another five to ten minutes so feel free to hang back if you'd like" she called as everyone began to gather their things and shuffle out of the room.</p>
<p>Malfoy heard her words and froze where he was starting to leave, he turned to fix her with a glare. They hadn't actually planned to stay after but if he left now he'd look like he was shrugging off his duties. She fixed him with a honey-sweet smile and settled herself onto a couch while he leaned against a wall across from her, his gaze fixed on the fireplace.</p>
<p>They stayed in silence for a long while until Hermione decided she was going to summon some of her Gryffindor courage and ask him about her legilemency.</p>
<p>"Malfoy" she started</p>
<p>"What the fuck do you want Granger?" he snapped</p>
<p>"I-" <em>that's actually a good question</em>. She had no idea what she wanted to ask him. It's not exacly like she could just say hey Malfoy how come I can read everybody else's mind except yours? He would think she'd gone off the deep end. <em>I mean if I'm being honest, I very well might have.</em></p>
<p>"Thank Salazar, she finally stopped talking" he exclaimed in a falsely cheerful tone. He stood up from his place against the wall and stormed out of the room when exactly five minutes had passed.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>It was the middle of the night when he returned to their dorm. Hermione heard the common room door shut softly from where she lay wide awake in bed. She'd had another nightmare courtesy of Bellatrix Lestrange. Her nightmares about the Manor were so different from the rest of them; more vivid, and her scar always burned when she woke up as though it had been carved into her arm all over again.</p>
<p>She was shaken out of her internal-reflection by the sound of a feminine giggle. She heard Malfoy and whoever he was with -<em>probably Pansy</em>- whisper in hushed tones before the sound of a door shutting. Her hopes that Malfoy had the decency to cast a <em>muffliato </em>were shattered when the sound of moans penetrated the silence accompanied by a thudding sound she would wager a guess was the headboard banging against the wall.</p>
<p>With an indignant huff she threw on a pair of pajama bottoms, grabbed her wand, and walked out of the Head's dorm towards Gryffindor tower. After whispering the password to the fat lady she walked into the red and gold common room, the familiarity of it all brought a smile to her lips. Walking into Ginny's dorm room she whispered a quiet <em>nox </em>and the light on her wand went out, leaving her to navigate the dorm in darkness.</p>
<p>"Ginny" she whispered, poking her head through the younger girl's curtains "Gin, can I sleep here tonight?" she asked. Her friend opened her eyes slightly then scooted over in her bed to make room. Once she was under the covers she turned in the direction of the red-head with a smile. The darkness of the room eliminating the chance that she might accidentally delve into her friend's subconscious.</p>
<p>"Why are you sleeping in my bed 'Mione?" Ginny asked quietly. She knew she wasn't upset with her, but it was usually her who needed to sleep in Hermione's bed not the other way around.</p>
<p>"Apparently instead of calling me names and taunting me as per his usual style, Malfoy has decided to drive me out of my dorm by shagging Pansy through my wall as a new form of torment." She sighed dramatically, earning a giggle from the other side of the bed.</p>
<p>"Well sweet dreams, try not to have nightmares about Malfoy and Pug-face shagging in your bed" she groaned as her friend laughed at her own words.</p>
<p>"Thanks Gin, now I'm going to have to go back to my dorm tomorrow and<em> incendio</em> my mattress just in case" both girls laughed quietly before they fell back asleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Desero</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They'd agreed to meet at the entrance to Hogsmeade, to limit the amount of time they had to spend in one another's company. Well, Malfoy had decided on behalf of both of them and then left her a note informing her as much by sticking it to her bedroom door.</p>
<p>She'd returned to the dorm in the late morning, hoping that Pansy or whoever had driven her out and into Gryffindor tower will have left before she got back. An empty common room greeted her when she walked through the door <em>Thank Merlin. </em>Having already gone for breakfast with Ginny and a few other girls, she had just over half an hour to get ready before she needed to leave.</p>
<p>Since it was the weekend and she wasn't required to wear her uniform, she settled for a pair of black denims and a thin maroon jumper that she pinned her Head Girl badge to. It was still fairly warm for Scottish autumn so she forewent a jacket altogether. Plaiting her hair into two identical French braids to keep it under control, she tucked her wand into its usual place under her sleeve and secured it with a weak sticking charm.</p>
<p>She slipped her flask into its regular place inside her bra. She'd replaced its typical contents with pain potion today, figuring it easier than carrying around a bag full of vials. Snagging her sunglasses off of her desk, she slipped on a pair of sneakers and left the common room.</p>
<p>Peeves was loitering in the front hall calling taunts to students as they left the castle. "Ooh it's the Golden Girly Grangerrrr" he crooned, bouncing towards her and cackling as the first years he'd been flying around ran away down the hall.</p>
<p>"Bugger off Peeves or I'll tell the Bloody Baron you called his chains gaudy" she snapped, she really wasn't in the mood to deal with him. She was saving her temper for spending the day with Malfoy.</p>
<p>"Granger Girly isn't any fun" he pouted, crossing his arms and floating himself upside down in front of her face as she walked. Reaching through him to grasp the door handle and pull it open, she walked out and turned back to flip him off with a smile before letting the heavy wood slam shut.</p>
<p>She started walking down the path away from the castle, it took her longer than she expected as younger years kept walking with her to ask her questions. It was harder to avoid eye contact with them than it was people her own age, mostly because she had to actively look down at them to be polite when she spoke to them. Her walk was exhausting, being bombarded with the thoughts of pre-teens.</p>
<p>
  <em>She's so cool! I hope my hair will be that long when I'm older.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I can't believe she actually fought Death Eaters, she looks way too nice.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Maybe she'd ask Harry Potter to sign my chocolate frog card for me!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I definitely can't ask her for a hug, that would be weird.</em>
</p>
<p>Thankfully soon enough the clouds shifted and the sun shone brightly, giving Hermione the perfect excuse to put her sunglasses on, preventing any more eye contact with other students.</p>
<p><em>They all idolize us too much, they're too young to understand how fucked up the war made us. </em>She thought to herself when she'd broken away from the pack of fourth years who had been asking her a billion and one questions about Harry and Ron.</p>
<p>None of the students knew that Harry blocked his memories of the war out by participating in underground fights and smoking cigarettes, or that Ron kept his nightmares about seventh year at bay by inviting a new girl into his bed every night. They had no idea that Hermione carried a flask of tequila with an undetectable extension charm in her bra, or that she spent her mornings brewing pain potion so she could get through the day. <em>They don't see how dirty war is, they only see how shiny it makes the heroes look.</em></p>
<p>She was so busy thinking about how screwed up her and her friends were that she didn't notice Malfoy leaning against the stone pillar of the front gates until he moved to stand as she approached.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>            <em>She's wearing those mirrored sunglasses again </em>Draco noted as Granger approached him and the two of them walked into Hogsmeade side by side. She was wearing fitted jeans and a thin jumper. He'd never really noticed her body before but he hadn't been able to help it lately, she occupied his thoughts so much that he couldn't help but become more aware of her appearance.</p>
<p>They'd probably never stood side by side before now, he noticed she was smaller than he thought she was, probably a good eight or nine inches shorter than him. Her hair was longer than it had been when he'd last seen her in the ministry, she usually wore it up in some way but even braided her hair reached close to the middle of her back.</p>
<p>"Like what you see Malfoy?" she asked dryly. <em>Shit </em>he'd definitely been staring at her, she probably thought he was checking her out.</p>
<p>"Not in the slightest Granger" he drawled back "I was simply trying to figure out why you smell like a distillery at 1 in the afternoon." It wasn't a lie. She did smell like alcohol, he'd noticed it as soon as she'd started walking beside him.</p>
<p>"We've all got our own ways of dealing with the war don't we?" Came her response. She shrugged lightly and kept walking. "We share a recycling bin Malfoy, I've seen the collection of firewhiskey and brandy bottles you accumulate in a week. Don't think you're better than me just because my demons haunt me during the day instead of the night like yours." She turned her head in his direction, he could see his reflection in those damn sunglasses.</p>
<p>"Trust me Granger, there's no universe where I think I'm better than you. Not when it comes to my demons" he said bitterly.</p>
<p>"Right, just when it comes to your demons. You're still pure-blooded and I'm just a mudblood unworthy of magic. Don't worry I haven't forgotten." She rolled her eyes as she spat the words out.</p>
<p>"You're golden remember? I'm the ex-death eater. Shouldn't matter to you anyways what I think should it?" He raised an eyebrow at her questioningly.</p>
<p>"I think this might be the first time we've ever had an entire conversation without resorting to throwing insults... or fists" he glared at her when she added on the last bit. "So for the sake of us having to spend the entire day together, I'm going to choose to disregard that you didn't disagree with my earlier point."</p>
<p>"I don't give a shit if you ignore it or cry yourself to sleep about it later Granger" he snapped at her. "We aren't friends remember?"</p>
<p>"God Malfoy, just when I start to think maybe you aren't an irredeemable dickhead you go and prove me wrong" she seethed. He couldn't see her eyes but he could wager a guess that she looked royally pissed.</p>
<p>"Quick someone call the Daily Prophet, the Golden swot actually admitted to being wrong. We should make it a national holiday." He sneered at her sarcastically. She huffed and turned her attention back to the road they were walking along as she spoke.</p>
<p>"Have you ever considered that the world won't end if you try to just be pleasant for once? We don't have to be friends but we do have to spend the entire afternoon together"</p>
<p>"I'm not the problem Granger, you're just so unbelievably annoying all the time" he knew he was being harsh for no reason, but it was true. Her presence just grated on his nerves and shortened his temper to nothing. His occlumency meant that most of the time he was indifferent to everything, except with her. She always managed to cause his anger to flare uncontrollably. He turned and started to walk away from her.</p>
<p>"Where are you going we-" he cut her off as he spun back around to face her.</p>
<p>"Don't worry I'll still do the bloody patrol, but I intend to do it as far away from you as I physically can" he practically snarled at her before he turned back around and walked away quickly.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p><em>What the hell is his problem? </em>She watched Malfoy stomp away from her, confused as to what exactly had set him off in the first place. They'd almost been getting along before he started acting like an ass.</p>
<p>With a shrug she continued her walk down the cobblestone street, smiling pleasantly at the students who waved at her as she passed. She'd just tucked herself into a small alley between two shops to take a sip of her pain potion when she heard footsteps behind her. Rushing to tuck the flask back into her bra and slipping her wand subtly out of her sleeve, she turned to see who'd been sneaking up on her.</p>
<p>"Hello Hermione" Luna greeted, a smile on her lips.</p>
<p>"Hi Luna" she pushed her wand back up her sleeve, scolding herself mentally for being so jumpy. "What are you doing in the alley?" She asked her blonde friend.</p>
<p>"I suppose we both have answers to that question" the girl mused cryptically "I'm looking for something, would you like to walk with me?"</p>
<p>"That sounds lovely Luna" she was grateful she didn't ask what Hermione had been doing in the alley. "I can help you look if you'd like, if you tell me what you're trying to find." She offered, trying to be helpful. She loved Luna dearly, but never quite understood the girl. The only person who didn't seem confused by the blonde's otherworldly ramblings was Neville. <em>They really are perfect for one another.</em></p>
<p>"I don't know what I'm searching for yet, but I'm sure I'll figure it out when I find it" she answered, as though that made perfect sense.</p>
<p>"Oh, alright" she responded, not entirely sure what else she was supposed to say. The two girls walked in silence for a while before Luna spoke again.</p>
<p>"You know Hermione, I've been meaning to ask you how you're doing."</p>
<p>"I'm good. Why do you ask?" She looked over at her friend, her ever-present smile was there as she gazed into the shop windows thoughtfully while they walked.</p>
<p>"Well, your aura has been different for quite a while. It almost appears to be overwhelmed or muddled up." Her friend explained, not looking at her as she spoke.</p>
<p>"Is that so?" she might as well entertain Luna's idea, it was easier than trying to explain to her that she didn't believe in auras. "I feel quite alright Luna but thank you for asking."</p>
<p>"That's good to hear, I suspect it must be quite hard" Luna mused, looking over at her and giving her a thoughtful look.</p>
<p>"What?" she asked, she was actually curious what the girl was talking about.</p>
<p>"Hearing everything." She stated simply. When Hermione gave her a baffled look, she continued. "I find it difficult sometimes being able to see just a little bit more than most people can. I can only imagine that it must be overwhelming for you to hear so much more than the rest of us do." Had Luna figured out what was going on?</p>
<p>"How do you..?" She trailed off, not even sure how to put the question into words.</p>
<p>"Like I said," Luna turned her attention back to the windows as she spoke calmly "your aura looks different. For a while I thought it was just because we were in the middle of a war, but then Voldemort died, and it just got more cluttered every time I saw you." She gave Hermione a pleasant smile and continued walking and humming, leaving her behind when she stopped in her tracks trying to process everything the blonde had just said.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>"Aye mate" Zabini nudged him gently in the side "time to do the captain thing and give a pre-game inspiring speech or something." They were in the change-rooms getting suited up for the first Quidditch game of the season. Slytherin versus Ravenclaw. <em>Fuck okay here we go... enthusiasm.</em></p>
<p>"Alright snakes gather round" he raised his voice to carry over the excited chatter of the room. "First game of the season, we're going to start strong and stay that way until we walk off the pitch with the Quidditch cup at the end of the season alright? If we lose against those brainiac eagles I promise I will make you all fly laps until you fall off your brooms." He took a breath and looked around the room at the faces of his team. "I don't care how you do it but we better win. Now let's go out there and do what Slytherins do best, win at all costs." He raised his voice to a cheer as he spoke the end of his speech.</p>
<p>The room erupted in cheers and Nott leaned close to his ear so he could hear when he said "Good first rally Captain, better catch that damn snitch."</p>
<p>He was just finishing tightening the laces on his gloves when he heard someone start the announcing, signalling it was time for them to head to the pitch.</p>
<p>"Okay snakes, brooms up let's go!" He yelled, herding them all out and taking his place on the Grass standing directly in front of Cho Chang, the Ravenclaw captain. Madame Hooch did her usual speech about following the rules and such. <em>Don't know why she wastes her breath, Slytherin never follows the rules. </em>With a malicious smirk he extended his hand for Chang to shake, when she took it he made sure to squeeze just a little tighter than he was supposed to.</p>
<p>They all mounted their brooms to hover fifteen or so feet above the field and the balls were released. He rose up high above the stands, scanning the air for the snitch and leaving the rest of his team to their own devices.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>"Remind me again Gin why I have to come to the game, Gryffindor isn't even playing" she whined to her friend. They were sitting in the Ravenclaw stands with Luna to cheer for Cho with a group of the other 8thyear girls.</p>
<p>It always brought a smile to Hermione's lips when she thought of Cho because she was automatically thought of how dumb Harry could be sometimes. The dunce had taken the word of Oliver Wood of all people that Cho was a year ahead of the rest of them and never thought to ask her, even when they dated back in fifth year. He'd been so confused when he'd heard she was returning to Hogwarts this year and she'd had a grand time correcting his misunderstanding. <em>He really can be quite clueless sometimes</em>.</p>
<p>"Because," Ginny interrupted her thoughts "we're being supportive for our fellow DA members, and you can't very well go to the after-party if you skip the game now can you?" her friend hadn't even taken her eyes off the field. "Plus, I'm scouting out the competition." Ginny could be more intense about quidditch than Harry and Ron combined sometimes, now that she'd been made captain she was even more serious about the sport.</p>
<p>She let her eyes roam over the players flying around the field, looking up she caught sight of Malfoy hovering above the game in the centre of the pitch. She could admit to herself -<em>and only to herself, she would take the thoughts to the grave- </em>that he looked quite fit in his quidditch gear.</p>
<p>"That explains why you're here" she countered, "what I'm asking is why I'm here. Plus, I don't think I'm going to go to the after-party."</p>
<p>"You're here to keep your favourite Weasley company" the red-head turned to look at her intensely "and you most certainly are going to the party." Her words had a tone of finality she most definitely learned from Molly Weasley.</p>
<p>"Alright fine I'll go to the party but I didn't even bring a book to-" before she could even finish Ginny pulled out her copy of their Charms textbook and handed it to her.</p>
<p>"You really think I didn't think you would try that as an excuse to leave?" she asked with a sly smile, looking far too pleased with herself. "I'm smarter than you give me credit for 'Mione." Ginny winked playfully at her before turning back to watch the Game.</p>
<p>"Starting to think George might be my favourite Weasley" she mumbled under her breath, earning a playful elbow in the ribs from her friend. She opened the book with a defeated huff and started reading a chapter on agricultural charms.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Cantus</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Slytherin beat Ravenclaw 360 to 190 after the longest two hours of Hermione's life. She'd gone back to the Head's dorm with Ginny after the game to work on some homework. She'd been debating since her conversation with Luna the day before if she should tell her friend about what she'd been going through. Luna hadn't been upset with her when she found out -<em>at least I think that's what that conversation had been about-</em>so she figured if anyone else was likely to be as receptive to it, it would be Ginny. They'd been studying for about an hour when she finally looked from her parchment at her friend.</p>
<p>"Gin, can I tell you something?" she started. She was so nervous to tell her, but the closer to saying it all out loud she got, the more she wanted to get it off her chest.</p>
<p>"Course 'Mione" Ginny looked up from the book she'd been reading to direct a concerned expression at her. "You know you can tell me anything."</p>
<p>"Just, promise you won't get mad at me" she hedged.</p>
<p>"Unless you're about to tell me that Harry broke up with me because you're pregnant with his baby, there's literally nothing you could say that would make me angry with you" her friend responded lightly but she knew she meant it. Taking a breath, she started her story. She told Ginny everything; from finding out accidentally when she'd been helping with cleaning up the castle, to why she broke up with Ron. The only thing she left out was what she'd seen in Harry's head, <em>that's not my secret to tell. </em>It felt unbelievably good to tell somebody everything. She had to give her friend credit, she sat and listened to everything. When Hermione finally stopped talking almost twenty minutes later, she finally spoke.</p>
<p>"Are you telling me" she started "that you can hear what I'm thinking right now?" She looked Ginny in the eye and held the eye contact as she responded.</p>
<p>"Right now you're thinking how bloody cool it would be if it's true, now you're thinking that you should think something less easy to guess in case I'm fucking with you, now you're singing a Weird Sisters song, GINNY I am not repeating out loud what you just thought that's crude!" She scolded her friend and they both dissolved into a fit of giggles.</p>
<p>"Okay alright I believe you," her friend said after she'd wiped her tears of laughter away from her eyes. "Holy shit 'Mione I can't believe you've been dealing with this for months! How have you not gone insane yet?" She cringed at the question, knowing her friend would be upset with the answer.</p>
<p>"Truthfully? A fuck ton of alcohol and daily doses of pain-relief potions" she spoke quietly, half hoping she wouldn't hear her admission.</p>
<p>"Well as much as I don't approve of your substance abuse, I know I'm not one to lecture anybody on coping mechanisms, with my bed-hopping through an entire quidditch team. I'm so sorry you had to go through this alone the whole time, I promise I'm gonna try and be there for you however I can from now on okay? We can figure this out together." The red-head reached out and took her hand, squeezing gently and offering her a reassuring smile.</p>
<p>She pulled Ginny into a tight hug. The two sat there for quite a while until finally they broke apart and went back to their homework without saying anything else.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Draco was drunk, he knew that. What he didn't know was exactly how drunk he was until he tried to get up off the sofa he'd been sitting on in the Slytherin common room. The team had rushed back to the dungeons and the party had been happening for a few hours. As soon as he leaned his weight onto his feet to stand up, he would end up falling back onto the couch. As he was gearing up for his third attempt, Nott slid into the seat next to him and slipped a vial of sober-up potion.</p>
<p>"Thought you might need that Captain" he said, clapping him on the shoulder. "We've gotta go to dinner in 20 minutes, and there's an upper-year party in the Room of Requirement after curfew tonight that we most definitely be attending" he opened his mouth to object but Nott beat him to it "I don't care if you want to sit on your sofa and drink yourself into a coma, you're coming with me so Blaise doesn't get mad when I leave early with a witch." Before he could tell Nott to fuck off or something along those lines, his friend had stood up and left just as quickly as he'd appeared.</p>
<p>Downing the potion, he got up from his seat and headed to the boy's dorms to change out of the quidditch uniform he was still wearing. Deciding he would shower after dinner, he borrowed a pair of black trousers and a Slytherin jumper from Nott to wear to the dining hall since he wouldn't have time to go back to his dorm. Pushing his hair away from where it had fallen into his face, he tucked his wand into his pocket and headed back out of the shared dorm.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>"Ginny if you come near me with another beauty charm I promise I will hex your nose onto your forehead" she threatened as the red-headed witch aimed her wand at her face again. Ginny had insisted on getting ready for the party together, and had then convinced Hermione to let her do her hair, makeup and choose her outfit. That's how at 11 in the evening, she found herself shoved into the tiniest dress Ginny owned with her hair charmed into soft waves and dark smoky eye makeup on her face.</p>
<p>"Okay okay fine" her friend conceded, holding her hands up in surrender. "But you have to admit you look hot, go look in the full-length mirror in the washroom and tell me if you like it." Ginny shoo'ed her out of the chair she was sitting in and towards the bathroom. "I still have to get dressed myself, your shoes are beside the wardrobe."</p>
<p>"Gin these are not my shoes," she exclaimed, holding the gold heels away from her by the straps as though they might bite her.</p>
<p>"They are tonight, I've already charmed them with stabilizing and cushioning spells. Plus they'll look so good with your dress." She didn't look up from where she was fussing with her fiery locks in the mirror. With a resigned sigh, she put the shoes on and made her way to the bathroom to see what exactly Ginny had done to her this time. She was pretty used to the girl's antics; seeing as her friend only had brothers, Hermione had been the subject of her dress-up sprees plenty of times before.</p>
<p>"Godric Ginny I can't wear this dress!" She exclaimed, looking at her reflection in the giant mirror. It was such a dark shade of red it almost looked black. It had long sleeves and a deep V that exposed a lot of her cleavage. It clung to her entire body like a second skin and stopped mid-way down her thigh. "It's so tight you can see the outline of my underwear!" she shouted as she continued to stare at herself in shock.</p>
<p>"So don't wear any!" Her friend called back calmly.</p>
<p>"Are you insane?"</p>
<p>"No, I'm not insane 'Mione, if you can see your underwear through it just take them off. Don't be such a downer. You look hot, embrace it!" she continued as she walked into the bathroom to check her own reflection. "Plus," she pointed out meeting her eyes in the mirror -<em>which they'd learned earlier in the evening was a safe way to make eye contact-</em>"if you look like that, I guarantee that nobody will be looking at your eyes." Ginny shot her a wink and went back to looking at her own reflection. With a resigned sigh and a wave of her hand, she vanished her knickers off her body.</p>
<p>"You look really good Gin holy shit" she stated, taking in her friend's appearance for the first time since she'd entered the bathroom. Ginny was wearing a black leather dress with spaghetti straps and a zipper that ran down the entire front of the dress. It contrasted against her bright hair and pale skin nicely. She'd paired it with a pair of strappy silver heels.</p>
<p>"Thanks," she replied, fluffing her curled hair in the mirror.</p>
<p>"Alright let's get going before I change my mind" she exclaimed, taking a sip from her flask and handing it to Ginny to do the same. She then drank a vial of pain potion and turned back to her friend who handed back the flask. Tucking it into its usual place, the two girls cast quick silencing charms on their heels so they could sneak to the seventh floor and headed out of the common room.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>The party was bloody lame, Draco couldn't believe he'd actually let Nott drag him to this thing. Most everyone there had been wasted by the time they'd shown up at nearly eleven. He was brooding near the entrance, sipping a plastic cup full of firewhiskey and waiting for Nott and Zabini to be distracted enough that he could leave without them noticing.</p>
<p>Pansy was standing next to him, her hands wrapped around his forearm in a vice grip as she prattled on about something he wasn't listening to. Every once in a while he would turn and nod at her so that she thought he was paying attention.</p>
<p>Zabini walked up and leaned against the wall next to him on his other side, rolling his eyes when he saw pansy and nodding in the direction of the drinks table. "Looks like Nott's fixed his sights on Granger tonight" he observed.</p>
<p>He followed Zabini's gaze to where Nott was approaching Granger as she poured herself a glass of firewhiskey. Granger looked <em>hot -no she doesn't its Granger for fuck's sake-</em>. She was wearing a dress that left very little to the imagination and her heels accentuated how nice her ass was. <em>What the fuck am I thinking? </em>If it was any other girl he would have no problem admitting to himself or even to Zabini that she looked good. But it was Granger, she was annoying and swotty and overall the worst third of the Golden Trio.</p>
<p>"Don't know where he thinks he's getting with her, she's too busy with that stick up her ass to shag Nott" he joked to his friend, but he was too busy checking out the Weasley girl where she was dancing in the middle of the room. He punched him lightly in the shoulder. "Just go hit on her mate and stop drooling on your shoes already."</p>
<p>Zabini rolled his eyes at his comment but still got up from the wall and headed to the dance floor, walking up to the red-head and leaning in her ear to say something. Draco looked away as he saw him wrap an arm around her waist. Seeing as both of his friends were preoccupied, he took advantage of the opportunity to sneak out of the party, dragging Pansy along behind him by the wrist.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>"Well don't you just look downright tasty tonight Granger, have you been hiding that ass under those robes all this time? That must be a crime." Theodore Nott leaned against the wall beside her, keeping his gaze on the party in front of them as he spoke. "What are the odds you let me take a bite out of you hm?" She looked over at him, truthfully she'd never noticed him before now. He was quite good looking. His skin was pale and contrasted nicely against his wavy brown hair. He towered over her even slouching against the wall like he was now, so she had to crane her neck slightly to observe his sharp jawline and how the muscles in his neck flexed and relaxed as he leaned his head back to rest on the cool brick.</p>
<p>"Are you this much of a man-slag when it comes to everyone Theodore or is that privilege exclusive to the female population?" She asked, raising her eyebrow at him scornfully. He turned to meet her gaze and she averted her eyes down to her drink quickly.</p>
<p>"I'm not one to discriminate based on gender" he stated, giving a nonchalant shrug. "However," he smirked at her "tonight my promiscuous ways are exclusive to one bushy-haired Head-girl, if she'll give me a shot."</p>
<p>"My hair is not bushy" she stated indignantly</p>
<p>"Well not right now. But I much prefer when it is, so I'm choosing to imagine it that way" he drawled, sending a wink in her direction.</p>
<p>"Just for tonight?" she flirted back, referring to his earlier statement. She'd decided about a second and a half ago that Theodore Nott might not be the worst choice in a one-night-stand.</p>
<p>"I am known to sometimes be persuaded into a repeat performance, unfortunately though I don't offer much outside of the bedroom" his response was joking, but Hermione could sense the serious undertones in his words.</p>
<p>"I believe you're selling yourself short; I've heard rumours of you <em>performing </em>under the quidditch stands, in broom closets and abandoned classrooms, even on the Hogwart's Express." She was teasing him now. She couldn't resist, he made it too easy with his vague attempts to imply he didn't want a relationship.</p>
<p>"That's not what I-"</p>
<p>"Relax Theodore" she cut him off "I won't be owling you or inviting you to Madame Rosmerta's after. Just for tonight." She agreed, smirking up at him.</p>
<p>Without warning, he bent down, grabbed her around the backs of her thighs and threw her over his shoulder. A door materialized in the wall beside them and without hesitation, he threw it open and carried her through it.</p>
<p>"Where did you take us?" She asked, looking around at the dark stone walls of the room.</p>
<p>"My dorm apparently, I just asked the room for a door to take us somewhere I could shag you senseless" he tossed her playfully onto the bed and went about casting a handful of locking and silencing charms on the door.</p>
<p>"Well if that's the case then stop playing with your <em>wand </em>and get over here" when he looked back at her in surprise at her forwardness, she pulled her dress off over her head and tossed it aside.</p>
<p>"No knickers. Why am I oddly disappointed by that?" he asked himself almost solemnly. She threw her bra away with her dress and kicked her heels off to join the rest of her clothes.</p>
<p>"Theodore Nott I am currently laying in your bed completely naked and waiting for you to fuck me, will you please shut up and take off your clothes?" she asked exasperatedly. It had been a few months since she'd been with anyone. How long it's been, coupled with the alcohol in her system meant she was feeling more brazen than usual.</p>
<p>"Yes, but only if you mess up your hair a bunch" he bartered "I've always wanted to wrap it around my hand and give it a good yank while I fuck you from behind, specifically when it looks all frizzy and disastrous"</p>
<p>"You sure know how to sweet talk a girl" she said with a roll of her eyes, but tousled her hair nonetheless.</p>
<p>"You're already in my bed Granger" he pointed out as he unbuttoned his shirt "clearly sweet-talk wasn't necessary"</p>
<p>"You make a good point Theodore" she conceded, leaning back to rest on her elbows to watch him undress.</p>
<p>"I must insist you call me Theo, at least while we're shagging" he said as he unbuttoned his trousers.</p>
<p>Once he had stripped down to his boxers and arm-band -<em>that looks exactly like Malfoy's</em>- he walked towards her, stopping at the foot of the bed. He stood there for a minute, letting his eyes roam over her body hungrily before he looked at her face. She averted her gaze quickly, letting her eyes explore his toned body. <em>Sometimes I do like Quidditch </em>she thought appreciatively. He was fairly lean with wiry muscle curled taught under his skin. His chest and abs were well defined, and his leg muscles flexed when he climbed onto the bed to kneel by her legs.</p>
<p>"Can I touch you?" he asked softly, a serious look on his face. When she just nodded he broke his eyes away to look at her face. She looked just to the side of his face so as not to seem too much like she was avoiding his eyes. "Words please Granger" he specified.</p>
<p>"Yes Theo, you can touch me" she spoke softly. He trailed his hand up her calf, over her knee and half-way up her thigh before he stopped. Using his grip on her leg, he pulled it away from the other one slightly.</p>
<p>Getting the idea, she spread her legs so that he could settle himself between them, supporting himself with one arm while the other explored her body. His eyes followed the same trail his fingers took from her neck across her collar bone and down her chest between the swells of her breasts.</p>
<p>"You have fantastic tits Granger" he rasped, his voice was rough with desire as his fingers traced the underside of one before circling up to gently pinch her hardened nipple. When she gasped softly at the sensation, a playful smirk grew on his lips as he lowered his lips to the other. He stopped just short so she could feel his hot breath on her skin and looked up at her face again "is this okay?" he asked before he looked back to where his hand was still teasing her gently.</p>
<p>"For the love of Merlin" she exclaimed exasperatedly "Theo if something is not okay, I promise I will tell you." She smiled softly at him when she added on "I want this."</p>
<p>That seemed to be all the reassurance he needed. He immediately took her nipple into his mouth and flicked his tongue across it a few times while he rolled the other one between his fingertips. Her back arched off the bed slightly, pushing her chest into his touch. </p>
<p>With a quiet pop he released his mouth from her breast and moved his head to the crook of her neck. He licked a hot stripe upwards to under her ear before he traced his path back down with teasing kisses. When he reached the space where her neck met her shoulder again, he nibbled gently before moving to the other side of her neck and repeating the process. She rolled her head to the side to allow him better access and grabbed the hand that was still playing with her nipple and tried to guide it farther down her body.</p>
<p>He chuckled into her skin at her eagerness but obliged regardless. He traced his hand slowly down her abdomen before dragging over to trace circles on her hip bone.</p>
<p>"Theo" she whined, demonstrating what she wanted by grinding her hips against his. She could feel how hard he was through his thin boxers. She felt him smile against her neck as his hand moved from her hip to the inside of her thigh, dragging up until his hand came to stop between them.</p>
<p>"So wet for me already" he practically purred against her skin, he moved his kisses down across her collarbone. He followed each kiss with a gentle bite, causing her lower abdomen to clench with want. He took one of her nipples back into his mouth as his fingers spread her folds and he began tracing patterns through her wetness, purposely avoiding her clit.</p>
<p>Growing exceedingly frustrated with his teasing, she detached one of her hands from where she'd been gripping his shoulders and brought it down between their bodies to rub him through his boxers. Her efforts were rewarded when a low groan escaped him and vibrated against her nipple.</p>
<p>"Theo" she whined "please, don't tease" the firewhiskey she'd had earlier was clouding her mind, amplifying the feel of his hands on her. Her arousal was dizzying as she ground her hips against his hand. She felt a finger press against her entrance and she moaned louder when he pumped into her, the heel of his palm grinding against her clit with every movement.</p>
<p>Her back lifted off the bed as he added another finger and curled them up to press against the spot behind her pelvis. Her back arched up off the bed and he increased the pace. She could feel her climax building, like a coiled spring winding tighter with each movement of his hands.</p>
<p>Without warning she wrapped her legs around his hips and used the leverage to roll both of them over so she hovered over him, straddling his hips and moving his hand away from her body.</p>
<p>"I believe" she ground her hips down over his hardness "you are wearing far too many clothes right now." She moved herself to the side of his body so she could curl her fingers under the waistband of his boxers and pull them down and off his body. His size was impressive. He wasn't intimidatingly large but she knew he would stretch her nonetheless. Kneeling right beside his hip, she wrapped her fingers around him firmly just below the head. Dragging her thumb over the slit, she collected the pre-cum that had beaded there and used it to lubricate her hand as she pumped.</p>
<p>His hips bucked up into her hand after she gave him a few strokes and he reached down to wrap his hand under her chin and pull her away from his erection and up towards him as he sat up. With a gentle but firm push, he directed her on her knees with her back to him. Pushing her down so her chest pressed into the comforter and she had to turn her head and rest her cheek on the bed to breathe, he used his hands on her hips to angle her lower body so he was resting against her heat.</p>
<p>They both groaned at the sensation as he directed himself through her wetness a few times until he was coated with her arousal. She felt him line himself up at her entrance and pause.</p>
<p>"Is this okay Granger? You want this?" He asked, his voice was gravelly.</p>
<p>"Theo I swear to Godric if you don't fuck me right now I will get out of this bed and hex you" she growled at him, craning her neck more to so he could see her face "I already told you I want this, I'm not going to change my mind now." She assured him.</p>
<p>He reached forward with one hand and grasped her hair by the ends and wrapped them around his hand and pulled it, forcing her neck to extend so she was looking directly at the headboard and her back was arched impossibly. Tightening his other hand on her hip, he pushed himself into her slowly. He penetrated her torturously slowly, letting her adjust to every inch until he bottomed out inside her which caused them both to groan. His hips were pressed flush against her ass as he held himself there for a moment.</p>
<p>"Please Theo" she moaned "please move" she enunciated her need by spreading her knees wider and pressing herself back harder against him. He almost completely pulled out of her and then he pushed himself back in quickly, drawing a loud moan from her lips. When he pulled out again he used his leverage on her hair to wrench her head back and he snapped his hips quickly, the sound of his skin slapping against her ass cheeks almost drowned out her moan.</p>
<p>"Fuck Granger, you're so fucking tight" he picked up the pace and she bucked back against him, meeting him thrust for thrust and the room filled with the sounds of their moans and the sound of skin slapping against skin. His grip was bruisingly tight against her hip and he relaxed his hold on her hair to move his other hand back to press gently on her lower back, arching it more. She could feel her climax building again low in her abdomen. He moved his hands around and up her body to cup her breasts. Tweaking her nipples he lifted her body so her back was pressed flush against his chest as he kneeled back on his haunches. Her legs were splayed wide on either side of his knees and he trailed a hand down to massage her clit.</p>
<p>"Theo I'm going to-" the rest of what she was going to say was broken off by a moan as he leaned his head forward to bite down on the junction of her neck firmly. She brought her arms up behind her to dig her nails into the back of his neck.</p>
<p>"Come on Granger" he rasped against her skin "I want to feel you cum on my cock" he rubbed faster on her clit at the same time he thrust into her more aggressively. She gasped as she felt herself go over the edge and her orgasm overtook her as he bit down on the skin of her neck again.</p>
<p>She let out an incoherent moan and she heard him groan against her as he came inside of her shortly after.</p>
<p>Collapsing onto the bed beside each other, Hermione cast a wandless <em>evanesco</em> to get rid of the wetness leaking from between her legs before she passed out with a content sight.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Postridie</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When she woke up on Sunday morning, Hermione had absolutely no idea where she was until she lifted her head from the pillow to look around. Taking in her surroundings, the dark stone walls and green drapes around the bed she was laying in were enough to cause the events of the night to flash through her mind. With a low groan at the pounding in her head, she made the mistake of rolling over, where she immediately met the eyes of Theodore Nott.</p>
<p>
  <em>Fuck how do I politely ask her to leave? I don't usually let them sleepover.</em>
</p>
<p>Pulling the pillow out from under her head and burying her face into it in an attempt to muffle the onslaught of his consciousness. She'd learned early on that delving into other people's thoughts without the cushion of a dose or two of pain potion was exceptionally unpleasant.</p>
<p>She spoke through the fabric to her bedmate. "Relax Theodore I fully intend to get out of here as soon as my head stops spinning, you can wipe that constipated look off your face." Realizing about a second after she said it that she'd responded aloud to his thoughts she wasn't supposed to be able to hear, her body tensed. <em>Maybe he'll just think I'm really intuitive or something, just pretend you didn't say anything weird Hermione. </em>He looked at her confused for a second before he shrugged to himself and rolled to stare at the ceiling relaxedly again.</p>
<p>Deciding that the pain in her head had subsided enough to be able to walk, she made to get out of the bed. Seeing as she had fallen asleep completely naked, she took the top sheet with her, leaving him lounging on the bed in just a pair of boxers. She winced slightly at the dull throbbing coming from between her legs.</p>
<p>"Um," she started uncertainly "any chance you know where my wand is?" He stood to look around the disaster of sheets and pillows that encircled the base of the bed while she dressed herself. She was pulling her dress back over her head when he handed it to her.</p>
<p>"Was under the nightstand, must've gotten knocked off." She smiled as she took it from his hand.</p>
<p>"Well," <em>what the fuck am I supposed to say? </em>She was pretty sure this was the most uncomfortable encounter she'd experienced ever, and she'd been tortured by Bellatrix Lestrange before. <em>Okay maybe the most uncomfortable is a bit of a stretch, but it's definitely making top ten.</em></p>
<p>"Yeah" he chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.</p>
<p>"Bye Theodore, see you around." She winked at him playfully in an attempt to diffuse some of the tension in the room as she headed towards the door, shoes in hand.</p>
<p>"See you Granger" he responded before she closed the door behind her.</p>
<p>Creeping down the stairs she assumed led to the common room, she silently prayed that it was early enough that everyone was still asleep. Her prayers were denied when she stepped into the common room and met the gaze of Blaise Zabini. <em>I'm really off my game with the whole avoiding eyes thing this morning.</em></p>
<p><em>No way Theo actually bagged Granger </em>was what he was thinking, sounding a little bit more impressed than she appreciated. She was mildly offended that the dark-skinned Slytherin thought she was such a prude, he didn't even <em>know </em>her. Scolding herself mentally for letting the private thoughts of someone she'd never spoken to before irk her, she did her best to paste a pleasant smile on her features.</p>
<p>"Morning Zabini" she greeted as she walked around the room towards the exit, still barefoot.</p>
<p>"Good morning Granger" he chirped smugly "I'm going to assume from the state of your appearance that you're the reason I was forced to sleep on the couch down here instead of in my bed?" He asked with a sly smirk on his face. <em>Do Slytherins ever smile or is a smirk as close as they get?</em></p>
<p>"Sorry about that" she grinned at him sheepishly as she tried to pat her hair down, she was certain it looked absolutely disastrous. "Anyways I best be going now." She wrenched the door open and practically ran from the dungeons, eager to get away from the snake pit. She kept her head down the entire walk back to the Head's room in the hopes that anyone she came across wouldn't recognize her.</p>
<p>When she whispered the password and stepped into her dorm, she let out a relieved sigh to be in the refuge of the common room. Her relief was short-lived however; <em>the universe must be out to get me s</em>he thought to herself as she let out a small sound of distress when Malfoy's door opened, and he walked out with a dishevelled Pansy Parkinson following behind him.</p>
<p>She offered them both a tight-lipped smile before she bee-lined to her bedroom, not feeling up to bickering with either of them this morning. She also was most definitely not feeling up to addressing the fact that the sight of Pansy intertwining her hand with Malfoy's caused something unsettlingly close to <em>jealousy </em>to flare in her chest. Shoving that away, she went about peeling the dress off of her body and gathering her things for a very long shower.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Draco was having a bad morning. His head was pounding from the alcohol and Pansy's snoring had prevented him from sleeping for longer than an hour or two. He hadn't wanted her to stay but it had been late when they'd finished, and it would be <em>ungentlemanly </em>of him to make her walk to the dungeons in the middle of the night, as she'd so helpfully pointed out.</p>
<p>All he wanted was for her to leave so he could shower and then go back to his bed and pass out until it was late enough in the day for him to start drinking again. Instead, he found himself being dragged to breakfast.</p>
<p>"Malfoy!" Zabini exclaimed as soon as he'd taken his usual place at their table. "You won't believe who I caught walking out of the boy's dormitories this morning." He began to pile some eggs onto his plate before he started buttering a slice of toast, gesturing with the knife for his friend to continue.</p>
<p>"Well don't keep me in suspense" he prompted his friend, not particularly caring but figuring he might as well entertain his friend's antics "did you finally manage to get the other Greengrass sister in bed Nott? You've been trying for one that for months."</p>
<p>"Even better" Zabini laughed as he leaned closer to him "Granger." Something resembling anger flashed through him when he said her name, but he quickly shoved it back behind his occlumency walls. The idea that he would feel anything more than mild annoyance about Granger was <em>ridiculous</em>.</p>
<p>"You're right" Draco drawled "I don't believe you. Everyone knows Granger has an emotional hard-on for the Weasel." Nott snorted at his words, causing orange juice to come out of his nose. Once his coughing fit subsided, he looked at him incredulously.</p>
<p>"Mate you're joking right? Those two broke up months ago, it made the bloody Prophet for Merlin's sake!"</p>
<p>"Oh," he responded, feeling oddly <em>happy?no. </em>at the revelation. "I dunno mates, was probably in bloody Azkaban at the time, I did spend most of my summer there remember?" He shuddered at the memories of the few months he'd spent on the horrible island. It was almost inhumane, the cold and the isolation of the place coupled with the ever-present dementors was enough to drive the sanest of witches and wizards mad.</p>
<p>"Right forgot about that Malfoy my bad" Nott dragged a hand through his hair looking bashful about his slip-up. He just shrugged back at his friend and returned to his breakfast, pouring himself another cup of tea to try and drive away the hangover niggling at the back of his brain.</p>
<p>Finishing his breakfast, he left his friends to head back to his dorm and nap away the rest of the ache in his head. Walking into his dorm he caught sight of Granger walking out of the bathroom in a robe. He stopped a few feet away from her as she was directly in the path to his door, and took in the sight in front of him.</p>
<p>Her usually unruly curls hung over her shoulder in damp waves, weighed down by the water. Her olive-toned skin clung over her collar bones from where he could see them through the opening of her robe. She cocked her head at his stare curiously, unintentionally drawing attention to the dark purple teeth marks imprinted in the junction of her neck.</p>
<p>His blood boiled at the sight for some reason he couldn't identify, with an audible snort he lifted his lips at her in a sneer. "Nice neck Granger, have a squabble with a werewolf lately?"</p>
<p>She rolled her eyes at him as she began to walk around where he was standing towards her door. "Actually, Malfoy I had an encounter with your mate Theodore, he's quite aggressive with the biting. You don't happen to know if he has any Hags in the family tree do?" She was smiling to herself at her joke.</p>
<p>He made a disgusted sound in the back of his throat as she turned her back on him to walk into her room. Leaving him standing in the common room feeling confused about the fact that he was feeling angry.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>She'd sent Ginny a <em>patronus </em>after dinner inviting her to sleepover in her room tonight. The two girls had always been close, but now that Ginny knew her secret she felt herself more eager to spend time with her. Soon after she'd sent her otter to the other girl, the familiar shape of a horse appeared with a promise to be there before curfew.</p>
<p>"Holy shit Ginny!" was the first thing out of her mouth when her friend walked into her bedroom without knocking. "What the hell happened to your neck?" she exclaimed. Ginny's neck and what she could see of the girl's chest was decorated with oval-shaped bruises in various shades of red and purple.</p>
<p>"Holy shit Hermione!" the younger girl mockingly mimicked her words, "what the hell happened to your neck?" The red-head waggled her eyebrows suggestively.</p>
<p>They both laughed and agreed to change into their pajamas before they swapped stories. Once they were both settled on her bed in their comfortable clothes with matching mugs of hot chocolate, Ginny turned her attention to her.</p>
<p>"Alright 'Mione I've been patient while you braided your hair and made your hot cocoa the muggle way. I want the whole story, NOW." She bounced excitedly on the bed where she sat.</p>
<p>"There really isn't that much of a story Gin, Theodore and I had sex. It's not like I came back this morning hitched or something exciting." She could see the disappointment in her friend's eyes as she spoke, obviously wanting more details.</p>
<p>"Nope you're right, you just came back looking thoroughly shagged with a massive bite mark on your neck. Are the rumors true? Was it mind blowing and world changing?" she was raising her eyebrows provocatively again.</p>
<p>"God Ginny don't be crude" she wrinkled her nose at her friend. "But if you must know, I wouldn't label it as 'mind blowing' or 'world changing' but it was good." She shrugged, not particularly knowing what else to say. "Anyways..." she continued, wanting to shift the attention away from herself "how 'bout you tell me about how you ended up looking like you fell into a pool full of horny leeches?"</p>
<p>"Oh my gosh 'Mione I don't even know where to start! It was just a one-time thing and I didn't even shag him I swear but I will tell you he is extremely talented with his tongue." Ginny had a roguish smile on her lips as she spoke. Being accustomed to her friend's vulgar behaviour, Hermione simply ignored it and leaned towards her when she responded.</p>
<p>"Well don't keep me in suspense all night!" she shoved her in the shoulder playfully "tell me who it was!"</p>
<p>"Blaise Zabini" she blurted "and before you say anything I <em>know </em>he's a Slytherin that's why it was just a one-time thing but let me tell you 'Mione that snake knows how to make a girl's legs shake-"</p>
<p>"Ginny please" she interrupted her friend laughing and covering her ears playfully.</p>
<p>"No way 'Mione you have to let me tell you! I mean he literally took me behind a tapestry and oh my Godric he pinned me against the wall and threw my leg over his should-"</p>
<p>"Jesus Ginny my ears are bleeding!" she exclaimed, cutting her off by tossing a pillow to her face. Both girls laughed and Ginny continued to try and tell Hermione all the dirty details of her hallway rendezvous much to her dismay. The girls talked for a long while until they eventually fell asleep in the early hours of the morning.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. saviour</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Taking a full course load of N.E.W.T. classes and being Head Girl was a lot more than she thought she'd signed up for. Coupled with the fact that her headaches were getting more intense and frequent meant that Hermione constantly felt like she was walking on a knife-edge.</p>
<p>She had known that the pain potions would get less effective over time, but she had thought it would take years before she needed a new solution, not months. Hermione was already having to re-dose herself at least every hour, whereas at the beginning of the school year she would never need to take it more frequently than four or five hours apart. She found herself brewing every single morning instead of twice a week and it was eating up more of her time that she didn't have.</p>
<p>The inefficiency of her pain potions meant that she depended heavier on her never-empty flask of tequila. She had also taken a page out of Harry's book and made a trip into the muggle world the previous weekend to pick up a few packs of cigarettes, she was finding that she quite enjoyed how they temporarily made her brain feel like it had been filled with candyfloss.</p>
<p>These were her thoughts as she got ready for prefect patrol with Malfoy. As a general rule Head's don't patrol regularly like the rest of the prefects do, mainly because of the extensive extra responsibilities expected of them such as planning events, supervising detentions - a new role thanks to many students having been traumatized by the Carrows -, tracking point deductions, paperwork, prefect supervision, patrol schedules and basically everything else. Tonight however; Professor Sinistra had requested that all sixth, seventh, and eighth year students enrolled in astronomy attend a midnight lesson in the tower in order to witness a rare triple eclipse on Jupiter or something. Her and Malfoy were both unfortunately not taking astronomy.</p>
<p>Hence why Hermione was going to be spending her evening patrolling the castle with Malfoy instead of getting ahead on assignments or brewing extra pain potion for the week as she had originally planned. <em>At least it's Malfoy, </em>she thought to herself. If she had to spend time with someone, she was weirdly happy for it to be him. Not because she enjoyed his company, but because she was consistently unable to hear his thoughts. They could just walk in silence.</p>
<p>Evidently, Malfoy did not want to walk in silence. He had started sending condescending or insulting statements her way the second she walked out of her bedroom to meet him in the sitting area. He'd made digs at her hair, her <em>dreadfully boring </em>shoes, how loud she walked, the fact that she held her wand too close to the bottom, and so many other things she lost count.</p>
<p>Her breaking point was when he commented on how annoying her voice is.</p>
<p>"You do realize Malfoy that you have been talking this entire time and I have not said a single word. If you want to talk about annoying, you should try listening to yourself!" Her magic was rolling off of her in waves she was so angry. The torches on the wall flamed brighter as a result and she could feel her sparks cracking off the ends of some of her curls.</p>
<p>He gaped at her for a second after her outburst. He opened his mouth to say something -that would likely encourage her current fantasy of hexing his tongue out- but she spoke again before he could get a word in.</p>
<p>"I have let you talk for the last quarter of an hour straight. Now I find myself without a very patient temper since the end of the war, so either you cut to the chase and tell me what exactly I've done now that has you behaving like I kicked your pygmy puff or I swear on the founders I will hex your mouth shut permanently." She levelled a glare at him that she was certain conveyed the fact that she was extremely serious.</p>
<p>"Fine. If you're going to whore yourself out again in the future, stay away from my friends, their lives are complicated enough" his voice sounded almost bitter when he said it. She didn't much care about his tone at the moment however, she was too focused on how her blood boiled furiously at his words.</p>
<p>"Oh that's rich coming from you of all people Malfoy, we share a <em>wall </em>remember? If either of us is the whore, it most definitely isn't me. Godric knows it wouldn't kill you to cast a <em>muffliato</em>, it's a fucking first year charm so I know you know how." She spat the words at him angrily. He didn't seem at all unnerved by the level of loathing in her voice and just continued walking down the hallway, occasionally stopping to check behind tapestries and in the alcoves.</p>
<p>"Never crossed my mind, I try my best not to think about you while I'm shagging" he stuffed his hands into his pockets nonchalantly and shrugged. She saw an opportunity to turn the conversation around and seized it eagerly, her flared temper quickly settling at the promise of riling him up.</p>
<p>"Try? Does that mean you sometimes fail and do think about me?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him questioningly.</p>
<p>"That's not what I said Granger" he growled turning his face to stare blankly ahead, but even in the darkness of the dimly lit castle, she could see the embarrassed pink staining the hollows of his cheeks. The sight of it was extremely satisfying, knowing she was getting to him.</p>
<p>"Ah but you're also not denying it" she taunted. She couldn't help herself; with him being literally the only person in the castle she could look in the eye without wanting to rip her hair out, she was determined to get as much entertainment out of the ability to have a real conversation with someone other than Ginny, even if it was an extremely disagreeable one.</p>
<p>"Shut the fuck up" he snapped, picking up his pace and forcing her to jog to catch up with him on her significantly shorter legs. <em>This conversation is getting more and more fun.</em></p>
<p>"Hmm no, I think I'd like to know your answer" she flashed him a knowing smirk as she spoke. His evasion of the question was answer enough, but she wanted to force him to say it.</p>
<p>"I said, shut your bloody mouth before I make you" he snarled at her as he stopped walking and turned to walk towards her in anger. She took an involuntary step away from him when he took a menacing one forward, causing her to bump into the wall behind her in the process.</p>
<p>"No." She lifted her chin defiantly at him as she spoke, intent to make it clear to him that he didn't intimidate her, even if truthfully, he did.</p>
<p>His only response to her was a low growl from his throat that Hermione was almost positive he didn't even know he'd made. He took another step towards her until she was effectively trapped between him and the cold brick behind her. <em>How does he always manage to corner me? </em>She wondered to herself angrily, she fought in a bloody war she should be better at not getting trapped by now.</p>
<p>She continued talking, wanting to rile him up more for some unknown reason. <em>Clearly I'm a masochist because he looks ready to crucio me, </em>part of her brain offered helpfully. Despite the threat that was unspoken on his face, the words continued to fall out of her mouth as she raised her eyes from where they were level with his chest to meet his eyes.</p>
<p>"Now there's no need to be embarrassed Malfoy. I pinky promise I won't tell any of your shiny pureblood slags that you fantasize about a muggle-born while you're inside them, that would ruin your blood-purist reputation and- "</p>
<p>Whatever she was about to say next was cut off when he reached up faster than she could react and wrapped his hand around her throat to pin her body against the wall, squeezing threateningly but not tight enough to cut off her air supply completely. The way in which he held her there forced her to stand on her toes to keep herself from being lifted completely off the ground.</p>
<p>She opened her mouth to say something but the only sound that managed to escape her lips was a broken wheeze. She noticed he didn't look angry anymore. His eyes were no longer flashing like steel with fury, but rather they resembled iridescent pools of molten silver.</p>
<p>She raised her hands to his chest with the intent to push him away from her when he leaned forward and aggressively pressed his lips against hers. Hermione gave a startled gasp at the action, causing her lips to part and allow his tongue entrance to her mouth.</p>
<p>Her eyes closed without thought as he nipped at her bottom lip slightly and to her surprise, she kissed him back. Fisting his robes in her hands, she let his tongue explore the inside of her mouth as he crushed her body with his own against the wall. The hand around her neck loosened as his thumb moved to under her chin in order to angle her head up more.</p>
<p>Just as soon as it had started, he was wrenching himself away from her as though he'd been physically burned. He looked at her one last time with an expression that she could only label as horror before he turned away and walked briskly in the opposite direction they had been moments before, leaving her standing against the wall gasping for breath and reeling to understand what had just happened.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>            <em>Fuck</em>. He paced the length of his room, his fingers dragging through his hair as his head spun furiously. He'd kissed Granger, and it was bloody amazing. She smelled like smoke and vanilla he'd noticed as he stood over her in the dark hallway. When he'd kissed her, her lips had been soft and plump and she'd tasted like honey and lemons with a sharp edge of an alcohol he didn't recognize. <em>Fuck.</em></p>
<p>He didn't know why he did it, she had been talking too much and saying things that made no sense but nonetheless made an uncomfortable feeling well up in his stomach. He'd been annoyed and then angry and then he'd looked at her. The second he'd felt her legillemency press against his mind his anger flared up and he'd wrapped his hand around her throat to scare her. What he didn't count on was how much he'd liked the way his hand had looked squeezing her neck.</p>
<p>The most confusing part was that she'd kissed him back. He wished she had simply shoved him off of her and hexed him or even bloody punched him in the face again. Both of those would have been significantly better outcomes. Why did she kiss him back? <em>She's supposed to hate me</em> he thought to himself, only adding to his confusion as to why she didn't bite his tongue off.</p>
<p><em>Why did she kiss me</em>? The question was running rampant in his brain to the point where he would have probably preferred a <em>crucio. </em>Moments before he'd been berating her non-stop for no less than ten minutes straight -ashamedly because he couldn't stop seeing that bloody bite mark from Theo even though it had healed a week ago- and then he'd called her a whore.</p>
<p>He walked the same path diagonally across his bedroom an ungodly amount of times as he struggled to push the incident behind his occlumency walls, despite how badly he wanted to solve the enigma that was Granger. By the time he managed to shut up his curiosity and force the incident back, he was actually sweating with the effort. Draco had been occluding as much emotion as possible for the better part of two years now since his aunt and Snape introduced him to the skill in sixth year, and this was the first time he'd ever struggled so much to put a memory or emotion away.</p>
<p>His family has always been naturally proficient in mind charms. It was well known legend in the Sacred 28 circle that the House of Black was believed to be direct descendants of Lachesis -the fate responsible for measuring the thread of life- and that was where their mind talents originated from. It rang true to some degree, his Grandmother had been a seer, his aunt a legilimens, and himself and his mother both occlumens. The talents were consistent throughout their family tree as far back as the records went.</p>
<p>He knew that no matter how good an occlumens he was, it was dangerous to occlude as heavily and as constantly as he did. Eventually, his body was probably going to start shutting down until he occluded himself into a coma, but thanks to his occlumency he couldn't bring himself to care.</p>
<p>He didn't feel anything anymore.</p>
<p>Or that had been the case until he started living in such close quarters with Granger. The witch managed to rouse an astonishing amount of annoyance and anger from him with no effort every single time he found himself interacting with her. Now thanks to her he was feeling angry, annoyed, confused and slightly embarrassed. He had felt more emotions in the time between when he'd pulled away from the kiss to when he'd brought his walls back up, than he had in the last two years collectively.</p>
<p>It was fucking unnerving. Granger wanted in his head still, he'd felt it again in the hall before he'd kissed her. <em>Of course, the one person who wants in also happens to be the one who makes my walls unstable enough that she may succeed </em>he thought to himself bitterly. He had no idea why she wanted to get inside his walls so badly, but his instincts of self-preservation were screaming that it would be bad if she succeeded.</p>
<p>He sat in his room for hours after he'd successfully managed to get his walls secure again. Draco had opted to spend the rest of his evening in a firewhiskey-induced haze that ensured he would not be forced to think about Granger. It seemed however that his traitorous mind had other plans, because the more he drank the more he found himself wishing that firewhiskey tasted like honey and lemons too.</p>
<p>An hour later, having finally found the bottom of his bottle completely bereft of the answers to his internal dilemma he found himself drifting off to sleep thinking about the smell of smoke and vanilla and the taste of honey and lemons. <em>Fuck.</em></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Epistola</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The first month of classes dragged by in a liquor induced haze for Draco. He spent most of his days nursing a pounding hangover and his nights cuddling with whatever bottle he pulled out of his trunk first. It was easier to pretend that the world wasn't completely upside down if his head was never fully clear. Half in a bottle of firewhiskey he could pretend that he wasn't one misstep away from Azkaban or from being disowned by his own father. Half in the bottle he could pretend he didn't know what Granger's lips tasted like.</p>
<p>Fully in the bottle was more of a problem, while he couldn't manage to slip into unconsciousness without the aid of an unholy amount of alcohol, it was more frequently problematic. When he found the bottom of the bottle of whatever he was drinking, Draco allowed himself to think about Granger and how her hair smelled like tobacco smoke and vanilla -which he'd learned in their shared bathroom was from her shampoo- and how her lips felt pressed against his. When he finally rolled the empty bottle to his bedroom floor, he drifted to sleep thinking about how she tasted like honey from her tea and the bitterness of an alcohol he'd never tried before.</p>
<p>The worst part of the cycle was when he woke up the next morning, but it was the most useful. Waking up to a pounding behind his eyes reminded Draco that the kiss was a mistake; Granger was a war hero who was too busy being a know-it-all to linger on secret hallway kisses, and he was an ex-death eater who hated muggle-borns. The kiss was a fluke accident that neither of them ever chose to acknowledge even over a week later. For ten days the two of them pretended that it had never happened; co-existing in a tense silence, the two never acknowledged what happened in the hallway.</p>
<p>He'd received two letters this morning at breakfast, both sealed with the Malfoy crest. He hurried back to his room as soon as they fell onto the table beside his plate, not wanting to open either in front of curious eyes.</p>
<p>The first was from his mother, he recognized her elegant scrawl that read his name on the front of the envelope. He opened it with a deep breath, reinforcing his occlumency walls before he started to read.</p>
<p>
  <em>My Dearest Draco,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I hope that the first month of your final year at Hogwarts has been delightful and you are enjoying your studies. Although the responsibility of Head Boy had been cast on you as a term of your probation, I encourage you to also remember to view it as the prestige that it is. Malfoy men have always held authoritative positions, and you are no exception.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>With both you and your father away from home, I fear the manor has grown most lonely for me with only the elves to keep me company. I wait with bated breath for your return at Christmas time, your letters I'm sure will do wonderfully to keep me sane in the meantime. I urge you not to worry about me my dear; in the wake of your absence I have taken up a project alongside the ministry to purge Malfoy manor of some of the more unsavory cursed objects that were left behind in the aftermath of the Dark Lord's residence.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I so look forward to your response darling, please do me the satisfaction of providing me with as many details regarding your time in the castle as one can fit in a letter. I wish to know everything even if you were to consider it not relevant, it would bring me great happiness to experience the world beyond the Malfoy property through your letters if I cannot live it for myself.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I know you do not like when I bring this up but as your mother it is my responsibility to worry about you. Have you considered my suggestion of seeing a mind-healer at all? I truly believe that it would be in your best interest to speak to someone; you cannot hide behind your occlumency walls forever. I know you're scared darling even if you've repressed the fear so much that you forget sometimes, it's alright to be afraid. Fear does not make you less of a man -one of the many things your father is wrong about- it simply makes you human. I do not wish for you to remain closed off to the world out of shame or anxiety.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Please do consider what I have said. I love you my dragon.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Mother</em>
</p>
<p>The audacity of the ministry, expecting his mother to open their ancestral home for them to pillage as they see fit. She'd said as much in her letter, he knew her ways of speaking in semi-riddles well enough to understand what was happening.</p>
<p>He missed her terribly. The two had always been close before he'd gone to Hogwarts. With Lucius away so often on what he now knew had been death-eater business, his mother was left to care for him on her own. Thanks to his father and their family's place in the war, she was confined to the grounds of Malfoy manor for <em>knowingly harboring an evil wizard</em>. Lucius was in Azkaban and Draco was at school, leaving Narcissa to live out her five-year house arrest on her own with only the elves and whoever walked through the floo for company.</p>
<p>Draco picked up a quill to write back to her.</p>
<p>
  <em>Mother,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>It is lovely as always to hear from you. I too am looking forward to returning to see you for the upcoming holidays. As you know, Head Boy has been a title I have aspired to achieve for since the first time you and father told me about Hogwarts. My co-head is what some may describe as a difficult character, and I find her acqaintence testing my patience more often than not. Other than my difficulties with my co-worker, I am having a most pleasant time thus far. All of my classes are of a calibre of difficulty I expected, and I have no doubt I will walk away from my final year with only the highest of N.E.W.T. scores.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Despite my rocky history with plants in my first few years, I find my advanced herbology elective most enjoyable. I know you always had more of an affinity for the stars than the land, but I find myself thoroughly enjoying my time in the greenhouses. I am also pleased to tell you that I am top of this class and if I continue to assist her with the younger years classes, Professor sprout has promised to write me a letter of recommendation to apprentice under her when I graduate in order to one day fill her place as Herbology master when she is to retire.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I hope that you can keep this information to yourself as I know that father would be most disapproving, he still desires me to take his seat on the Sacred-28 board and do nothing but discuss how pure-blooded and rich I am for the rest of my days. I know that you understand why I wish to do more with my future. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Blaise Zabini and Theodore Nott both send their regards and wish you well. I am thinking of inviting them both to the manor with me for Christmas if you find that agreeable, both boys find themselves without a place to spend the holidays as Ms. Zabini is to be on honeymoon with her new husband, and Nott manor is supposedly an even more unwelcome place since the passing of Mr. Nott -though I would have thought the lack of that horrid man could only make the place better-. If you are alright with it I will extend the invitation to the two, please let me know.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I hope you are being careful with the ministry mother; I would find it most upsetting to know that they are forcing your hand in relinquishing any valuable family heirlooms by accident if it were to be mistaken as a belonging of that monster. You know I care not if we were to hand over the entirety of Malfoy manor to the aurors and started fresh, however I know that if that were to happen the fault from father would be placed on you and I do not wish you to have to face his wrath.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I will take your suggestions about a mind-healer under consideration.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>With the utmost affection,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Draco Lucius Malfoy</em>
</p>
<p>The second envelope he received was from his father. His usually impeccable handwriting was shaky and there was an ink blot in the middle of the 'O' of his first name. He opened the letter half-heartedly, not particularly wanting to read whatever the bastard had to say.</p>
<p>
  <em>Son,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I have heard through whispers that you have been appointed Head Boy. It is about time you stopped being a stain to the Malfoy name, though I must express my disappointment that you did not tell me yourself and I instead had to hear the news of my only son's accomplishment from a filthy half-blood guard. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Do not allow yourself to fall below the calibre of greatness that is expected of you as my only heir to the Malfoy name. I expect now that you are without distraction, that you will be first in all of your classes. I do not need to remind you that is a disgrace to come second to anybody as a Malfoy, let alone a pathetic mudblood as I have allowed you to for the last several years. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Following the defeat of our Dark Lord, it is more important than ever that you uphold the position of the Malfoy family in society seeing as I am unable to do so myself from Azkaban. Make no mistake my son, you may be an adult in the eyes of the law now, however you are still my heir and as long as you carry the Malfoy name you will answer to me and do as I say.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I will not be as forgiving of any disobedience as I have been in the past. My absence from the manor does not change anything.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I await and expect your response, </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Lucius Malfoy</em>
</p>
<p>If he didn't respond his father would only write again, likely with more thinly veiled threats that Draco was confident he would have no problem fulfilling regardless of his imprisonment.</p>
<p>
  <em>Father,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I will not disappoint.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>DLM</em>
</p>
<p>Sealing both letters into envelopes, Draco shrugged his robes back on and made his way out of the dorm to the owlery.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>She'd been putting off reaching out to anyone for weeks now, but when Hermione had two letters fall in front of her bowl of fruit, she knew she couldn't keep avoiding her friends. She rushed from the great hall to the library, wanting to read them in the privacy of her regular table in the depths of the bookshelves.</p>
<p>The letter on top was from Harry.</p>
<p>
  <em>Hermione,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Molly passed on from Ginny that you've been having nightmares about the war again, I thought you'd said they stopped months ago? I wish you would have told me yourself; you know I'm happy to help. Have you thought any more about what Molly suggested about seeing a mind-healer? It might help.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Everyone misses you and Gin dearly. Ron and I went over the other night for dinner, Molly gets lonely with so many of us gone from the house now, but every day it's a little bit easier. Training has been a good outlet for Ron's grief, I think. We found Molly in Fred's room again the other day when we stopped by for dinner, she and George were just sitting there crying over his old quidditch uniform. I've been trying to convince George to go back to the joke shop but he's talking about selling it.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Can you do me a favour and look out for Ginny for me? I doubt she would want to see me after the breakup, but I still care about her and worry for her. She doesn't know that I saw but she snuck Fred's beater bat in her trunk before she left, I think she's struggling with his death more than she'll let on. </em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>On a happier note, I finally finished the theory portion of my auror training, I'm starting field work in a few weeks once I pass my application training. Ron has some news as well about training but he's writing you a letter right now beside me, so I think I'll let him tell you himself.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>We're going to write to McGonagall and request permission to come and visit you and Gin at Hogwarts, even if I have to pull my 'Chosen One' card.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I hope you're doing well Hermione; we miss you dearly and you better not replace me with head boy Macmillan as your best friend just because you're living with the bloke now.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Love you always,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Harry</em>
</p>
<p>She wiped a stray tear from her cheeks, it was easy to forget how much she really needed her best friend when she was sequestered in the castle and buried under her problems. She hoped they would manage to get permission to come visit, a month was the longest she'd been apart from both of them since before the war. Actively deciding not to mention that Ernie wasn't head boy like she'd thought, she pulled a quill and some parchment out of her bag to write a reply. </p>
<p>
  <em>Dear Harry,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I'm so happy to hear that your auror training is going so well! I'm so proud of you and Ron both for everything you've accomplished already. Of course I will look after Ginny, she's taken to sleeping most nights in the Head's dorm with me anyways. I think Gryffindor tower holds too many memories of last year with the Carrows for her to really want to spend much time there, so she's practically moved in with me.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I've thought about going to see a mind-healer, but I think I may go and see a muggle psychologist over the break again, like I did during the summer.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I'm going to be returning to the burrow for Christmas holidays with Ginny, I hope that you and Ron will be able to come spend it with us if your training doesn't occupy too much of your time, I miss you both terribly.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>All my love,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Hermione Jean Granger</em>
</p>
<p>The second letter was from Ron, his messy handwriting was illegible to most people. Lucky for her, she'd been correcting his essays since they were eleven, Hermione was fluent in the chicken scratch.</p>
<p>
  <em>'Mione,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Auror training has been really great so far! The poisons testing was bloody hard, but I passed all on my own! I actually did that thing you used to do with the study charts and schedules, and I got every question right! Who would've thought I'd ever get a perfect score on anything to do with potions? I bet Snape is rolling over in his big-nosed grave right about now.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Mum and dad and the rest of us really miss you 'Mione. I know we aren't together anymore but you're still one of my best friends and I'll always love you, no matter what. I've been taking turns  living between Grimmauld and the burrow lately, I think if I leave mum and dad alone with George in the house for too long the three of them will drown in their grief. We're all trying really hard to move forward; I know Fred wouldn't want us to mourn him forever.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Can't wait to hear from you 'Mione, love you lots.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Ron</em>
</p>
<p>Beaming with pride at her friend's accomplishment and his newfound maturity, she pulled another piece of parchment out of her bag to write him back.</p>
<p>
  <em>Ronald,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>First off, I want to say I am so unbelievably proud of you for doing so well on the testing all on your own! I always knew that you could be quite clever if you were to properly apply yourself. I must remind you that it's in bad taste to speak ill of the dead, as much as Professor Snape made it difficult for us to do anything but dislike him, he gave his life to the Order of the Phoenix and he died a hero. I'm sure if he were still alive, he would have been proud of your accomplishment as well.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I think your insight on what Fred would have wanted is incredibly mature of you. Please remember that it's okay to feel sad sometimes and if you ever want to talk about him or the war in general, I'm just a floo away.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>I'll be coming home with Ginny for Christmas this year. I'm quite excited to see you all I've missed everyone so much already. Good luck with the next part of your training and remember to stay safe!</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Love you always,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Hermione Jean Granger</em>
</p>
<p>She quickly tucked all of her things back into her bag and headed to the owlery. She was ascending the stairs quickly, watching her feet so she didn't trip on the hard-stone steps when she ran directly into a hard body.</p>
<p>Hermione had an apology on her tongue as she looked up to whomever she had run into when her eyes met stony grey ones. Her automatic recoil at eye contact was evidently unnecessary when she realized the eyes belonged to Malfoy. As usual, she heard and saw nothing.</p>
<p>Before she could get her apology out of her mouth, Malfoy scowled darkly at her and walked around her, continuing his descent without a word.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Vexo</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>She'd always been rather unassuming in his eyes before, but maybe the blood-supremacy he'd been raised on had been acting as an antithesis to rose-coloured glasses. Now he knew better. Granger was fucking intimidating.</p>
<p>You wouldn't think it by her big brown doe eyes, or by the way her robes were wrinkled and her knee socks were slightly uneven. Nothing about the way she had ink on her lip was even slightly daunting. But sitting across the library table from her, Draco could confidently admit to himself that he was thoroughly intimidated by her.</p>
<p>She wasn't exactly scary, but every single one of the hairs on the back of his neck was standing straight up. His leg was bouncing incessantly under the table as he stared down at the parchment in front of him. Her presence was immensely distracting. He could smell her shampoo from where he sat -<em>fucking vanilla-</em>and she kept rolling her quill in between her lips like a muggle cigarette in a way that was utterly captivating, he had to actively look away every few minutes or so.</p>
<p>He'd woken up to another one of her notes on his bedroom door, requesting his presence in the library after dinner to work on their project. He'd spent far too long looking at the note considering it was comprised of only six words. He'd read it enough times that he'd been able to note that her handwriting was an atrocious combination of cursive and print that made it nearly illegible. He also noticed that there were slight ink smudges around the edges of the paper, as though she'd had ink on her fingers when she'd written it. Draco had stared at the note long enough that he had decided it worth putting in a drawer in his desk instead of the waste-bin.</p>
<p>"Malfoy?" It was the first thing either of them had said to each other since he found her in the library. More specifically, it was the first thing either of them had said since he'd kissed her. He still didn't know if he wished he could make it so the kiss never happened, or if he wanted to do it again.</p>
<p>"Yes Granger?" his tone was flat, his occlumency walls were heavily layered today in preparation for having to spend time with her, though they were doing him little good with his runaway thoughts.</p>
<p>"Are you okay?"</p>
<p>"Just peachy"</p>
<p>"You sure?" she sounded almost nervous. He just hummed slightly in response, not wanting to interact with her more than necessary lest he do something stupid, <em>again</em>. "It's just" -<em>she never fucking knows when to stop talking</em>- "you seem quite unsettled and if it's about what happened the other day-"</p>
<p>"Go on Granger, wondering if there's a repeat performance in the cards for our little study date?" Why was he provoking her? <em>Not a bloody clue. </em>He knew damn well nothing good could come out of taunting, but it was a familiar defense mechanism for him.</p>
<p>"That's not what I was going to say." Her tone was sharp and her words clipped, she was clearly annoyed with being interrupted. <em>I'm already playing with fire</em>, he thought to himself <em>it won't be worth it if I don't get burned</em>.</p>
<p>That's how he justified to himself that getting up and walking around the table was a sound decision. It's also how he convinced himself that he wasn't being self-destructive when he leaned against the table beside where she was seated.</p>
<p><em>Self-destructive or not the image of her looking up with that innocent wide-eyed look is well worth it. </em>He had to agree with himself on this one. Granger looked a sight seated in her chair; head tilted up to look at him where he stood lounging beside her.</p>
<p>"Hmm," he hummed as though he was thinking "if that's so, what were you going to say?" He cocked his head slightly as he looked down at her, flashing her a derisive smirk. She blushed, her mouth opening slightly as though to speak. He reached out impulsively and hooked his finger around a lock of her hair.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Malfoy twirled the curl around his finger a few times before he let it fall back down onto her shoulder. This movement reminded her that he was in fact waiting for her to respond.</p>
<p>"You're far too cocky for your own good Malfoy, it's quite presumptuous of you to think I would want to kiss you again when I didn't even want to kiss you the first time." It was her turn to give a cruel smile, not even bothering to look up at him as she spoke. Instead she made a show of capping her ink pot and putting it into her bag.</p>
<p>His only response was a displeased growl before she felt a hand fist into her hair aggressively. She opened her mouth to ask him just what exactly he thought he was doing when the hand pulled up, lifting her from her chair and turning her away from the table so her back was pressed against his chest. <em>He smells like coffee</em> she noticed, and when he spoke right next to her face she could also smell mint on his breath.</p>
<p>"Here's the thing Granger, I think you're lying to both of us." One hand was still firmly entangled in her hair, the other reached into her sleeve to retrieve her wand and surprisingly, placed it into her hand. "There you've got your wand, feel free to hex me, but I have a feeling you won't."</p>
<p>He lifted the hand holding her wand and aimed at himself for her. Her heart was beating so loud she was certain he could hear it, but it wasn't out of fear. He leaned his head down close to her ear and whispered encouragingly "go on, I'm sure you've got a dozen spells on the tip of your tongue right now."</p>
<p>His head continued its path down towards her shoulder, pausing to place an open-mouthed kiss to the space just below her ear. She took in a shaky breath and whispered a quiet <em>muffliato </em>before she dropped her wand onto the library floor. She felt more than heard him laugh behind her.</p>
<p>"That's what I thought, you want this don't you? Even though I'm the good-for-nothing ex-death eater, you still want what I can give you. Hm?" The hand currently not entangled in her hair had started moving, trailing gently from her fingertips up her arm and then down her side before stopping at her hip.</p>
<p>She nodded in assent, words seeming to have escaped her entirely at the feel of his touch. She felt his chest rumble again against her back, this time seemingly in an annoyed manner. His hand tightened in her hair again, pulling it tighter so she was looking at the ceiling.</p>
<p>"I asked you a fucking question witch." His voice was lower now, more menacing, and her abdomen tightened at the sound.</p>
<p>"Y-yes" she managed.</p>
<p>In a movement so fast she barely had time to register what was happening, Malfoy stood from where he was still leaning and moved them both across the small study area so her upper body was now pressed into a bookshelf. His hand had moved from her hair to her neck, holding her in place as his feet pushed hers apart.</p>
<p>The only part of him that was touching her was the hand on her neck. She whined slightly from the need she could feel pooling in her knickers, she felt his other hand trace the back of her thigh where her skirt sat.</p>
<p>The hand around the back of her neck tightened slightly when she squirmed. Her ribs dug painfully into the bookshelf, but she barely felt it, all she cared about was the hand that was trailing painfully slowly up the inside of her leg.</p>
<p>"Malfoy-" she pleaded, unable to form a coherent sentence.</p>
<p>"Is this what you want Granger?" his words sounded rough in her ear when he spoke, his hot breath making her shiver. "Do you want someone to treat you like the filthy little whore you know you are?" Each word was accompanied by the movement of his hand higher up her thigh, painfully close now but not quite where she needed it.</p>
<p>"God, please Malfoy" she was begging now, her pride could recover later. Her hips bucked when his thumb ran along the elastic edge of her underwear. She craned her neck over her shoulder to meet his eyes, hoping that her need and desire was clear to him in her face.</p>
<p>She watched it happen. As soon as she looked at him; his eyes morphed from the bright pools of molten silver, to a cold hard grey in the -literal- blink of an eye. Suddenly the hand on the back of her neck pushed her harder into the shelf so she could feel the corner of a book digging into her cheek. His lips curled into a cruel sneer and he pulled his face away from her as he spoke.</p>
<p>"You're delusional if you think I would ever taint myself with the likes of you, you filthy little mudblood." Her skin felt cold when he withdrew his hands from her. As he backed away, she turned from the shelf of books to look at him. He packed his things quickly and walked away from her without another word. <em>Again</em>.</p>
<p>She was fucking tired of the whole hot and cold behaviour, and she was even more tired of the whole walking away from her without a word thing. It was bloody rude.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Draco was pissed. He didn't know who he was angry at exactly; himself for being stupid and letting himself want her, and her for actually wanting him and saying yes. He was most definitely angry at her for trying with the fucking mind charms again though, especially when he'd allowed himself to almost be vulnerable around her. He'd managed to make his way through a quarter of some bottle of alcohol -that was so old the label had rubbed off- by the time Granger returned to the room, and he was more than itching for a fight.</p>
<p>She hadn't noticed him yet, too busy closing the common room entrance quietly and divesting herself of her shoes. By the time she noticed him he was standing across the sitting room, glaring at her.</p>
<p>"I have a question for you mudblood, and you're going to tell me the fucking truth or I swear to Salazar Slytherin I will not hesitate to go back to Azkaban." His voice was unsteady as he spoke, whether from his intoxication, his anger, or from the fact that his occlumency walls were hanging on by a thread; he had no idea.</p>
<p>She returned his glare with venom, obviously just as irate with him as he was with her. Before he could say anything, she held up a single finger in a <em>wait </em>gesture and walked into the kitchen. She emerged a minute later holding two mugs and snatched the bottle from his hands.</p>
<p>"What are you-" she cut him off before he could finish his question, calmly pouring generous amounts of the mystery alcohol into the mugs and handing him one.</p>
<p>"You seem like you're about to yell at me, and I most definitely want to yell at you. I believe it's better we both drink before we start." Her tone was so matter of fact he wanted to strangle her right then, but instead he watched as she walked over to a couch and took a seat, placing her wand on the table in the middle of the room and indicating for him to come and do the same.</p>
<p>Once they were both seated with their wands safely in the neutral area between them. She looked at him expectantly, gesturing non-verbally for him to resume his earlier yelling. Her unwavering calmness was both infuriating and unsettling. He scowled at the side of her face for a moment as she stared into the fire. With great difficulty, he took a steadying breath and forced his voice to come out calmly despite how very not calm he was feeling.</p>
<p>"Would you care to enlighten me Granger, why the fuck you've been trying at every opportunity to take a peek into my head?" His words seemed to penetrate whatever icy façade she had donned, because the second they were out of his mouth she snapped her head towards him wearing a look of pure panic.</p>
<p>The fact that she looked completely at a loss for words just caused his anger and confusion to grow. "I mean it's truly quite insulting that you thought I wouldn't notice." He continued. "So, are you doing it for the ministry? What the near-impossible parole conditions weren't enough? Now they want to go digging in my head to look for something to put me back in that hell for?"</p>
<p>His voice had raised in volume significantly as he spoke, the tail end being so loud that Granger actually flinched away from him. She opened her mouth to say something, but he wasn't quite finished with his rant, so he spoke over her attempts at an explanation.</p>
<p>"Or maybe, they knew I'd catch on and they assumed I would just blindly Avada you out of anger, maybe you're just the sacrificial lamb." He went to keep talking but found no sound came out, looking angrily over at Granger he noticed her wand was still very much on the table. <em>Wandless and non-verbal, impressive </em>he noted begrudgingly.</p>
<p>"If you're quite done with your conspiracy theories, hand me the bottle, I'm going to need significantly more alcohol if I have to explain myself to you of all people." She sounded tired and resigned. When he looked at her, she was massaging her temples with her fingertips as though she had a headache.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>"I suggest you have another drink as well before I start." Hermione handed the bottle across the table to him after she filled her own mug. She hoped he didn't notice the way her hands shook slightly, causing the alcohol to slosh inside the porcelain cup. It had been more than 4 hours since her last potion, the longest she'd gone in more than a week and she was feeling the withdrawal.</p>
<p>She wanted a potion, and a cigarette, and about four more of whatever the dark liquor in her mug was, mostly she wanted to not be sitting across from a very irate Draco Malfoy preparing to tell her dirty little secret. When his cup was once again full, she tucked her feet underneath herself and began her story.</p>
<p>"So basically," she concluded after ten painful minutes "I've never once cast or even experienced a <em>legilimens </em>spell in my life and here I am, basically a bloody brain-voyeur."</p>
<p>He looked confused which Hermione expected, what she didn't expect was for him to start laughing. Not just a chuckle or a snort at her misfortune; but howling laughter that caused him to double over until he struggled to breathe. She frowned at him from her place across the room, not pleased whatsoever with his reaction.</p>
<p>"You mean to tell me, that every time you make eye contact with someone, you're forced to experience their running internal dialogue?" He barely managed to get the words out between gasping for breath and breaking down into fits of laughter again.</p>
<p>"Yes, Malfoy that's exactly what I'm telling you, trust me when I say I don't want to get into anyone's head ever again, least of all yours." He broke out into a new fit of hysteric laughter at her response, earning him another frown and another <em>silencio </em>until he had calmed himself down. When he was no longer silently laughing, she lifted the spell.</p>
<p>"Damn Granger, that's most definitely hell on Earth if I've ever heard it, oh that explains the sunglasses all the time and the semi-hermit lifestyle you've adopted."</p>
<p>She barely heard him over the sudden roaring in her ears. Hermione was sweating now from the withdrawal of her potions, she should've re-dosed hours ago. It had been almost five since she last took it now. Standing suddenly, she walked over to her bag and took out a vial, she drank it quickly before returning to her seat. Malfoy gave her an inquisitive look.</p>
<p>"Don't ask, we both know you don't care and it's none of your business." She downed the rest of her drink to chase away the pine-like aftertaste of the potion. "Can I ask you something Malfoy? How come you seem to be the only person whose thoughts I can't hear?"</p>
<p>Her question made him uncomfortable, she could see it in the way he shifted minutely in his seat and his eyes adopted the cold hardness once again.</p>
<p>"My family has been known to be talented in mind magic, mine happens to be specifically honed to occlumency" was all he said in return.</p>
<p>"Well, I never thought I'd see the day but looks like all that inbreeding was good for something. You happen to be the only person I can stand interacting with at the moment except for Ginny, and that's only because she knows and makes sure we don't look at each other."</p>
<p>He scowled at her inbreeding comment, but she didn't much care. Picking up her wand from the table she unsteadily made her way to her room for bed and called a goodnight over her shoulder. Flopping onto her bed, Hermione decided it was for the best they had not discussed what happened in the library. <em>Some things are best left ignored and treated as though they didn't happen</em>, she told herself firmly as she drifted off to sleep.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Amicita</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It was low, even for Draco. Disgusting and depraved and if given the choice he would become bedmates with a vampire before he admitted he ever did it.</p>
<p>His morning routine usually consisted of a wank in the shower. He'd been doing it every day since he hit puberty -with the exception of his stint in Azkaban- and he'd always had the same routine of fantasies to help him along. A bleach blonde with big tits on her knees, a red-head with a tiny waist on her back, a strawberry blonde with toned legs straddling his lap, and so on. The issue was that lately, they were all brunettes with unruly curls and big brown eyes. They all had pouty pink lips and creamy caramel thighs. They were all Granger.</p>
<p>It was right in front of him on the shelf in the shower, and he'd been so engrossed in his thinking about how she might look bent over his potions table that he barely noticed when he picked it up and opened it. The smell of her vanilla shampoo flooded his senses as he imagined himself putting his face in the crook of her neck and biting, leaving his own mark where Theo had left his a few weeks ago. He came. Hard. In his hand and on the tile wall of the shower, he painted the proof of his sick and twisted fantasy about her.</p>
<p>He guiltily put the bottle back where he'd found it and washed the evidence of his actions down the drain before he finished his shower. It seemed harder to push down his desire for the witch now that she'd told him about the legillemency.</p>
<p>He truly believed her; nobody could so convincingly make up a story about that kind of torment. Plus, even if he wanted to doubt her genuineness, everything else that had been so different about her now than before the war made sense. The drinking, the pain potions she thought nobody knew about -not that many potions are pale blue, she's not the only person to get an O in potions class-, the skittish and erratic behaviour. She was a right mess and now he knew why.</p>
<p>The problem for him was, now that he didn't have paranoia to talk him off the edge, Draco found himself struggling to reason with his libido why he shouldn't pursue Granger. She'd been receptive to him both in the hallway and in the library, which confused him immensely. Wasn't she supposed to be married to the Weasel by now? Why was she so eager for him when they'd done nothing in the past seven years but hate each other?</p>
<p>Filing these problems into the <em>questions I'll think about later when I'm woken up by nightmares and have nothing else to do until the sun rises </em>folder, Draco stepped out of the shower and went about getting ready for the day.</p>
<p>Granger was already gone by the time he went to leave for the great hall, her shoes and school bag were gone from the entrance way already. It's completely normal for him to notice these things, they live together it would be weird if he didn't. He would be odd if he didn't wonder to himself what time she got up in the mornings if she always managed to be gone and out of the dorm by the time he came out of his room.</p>
<p>Theo was the only one of his friends at breakfast when Draco walked in, there was still an hour before class started and it seemed half the school was still in bed. From where he sat, he could see her sitting across the hall at the Hufflepuff table with others from the three other houses -<em>all of whom he recognized from Dumbledore's Army</em>-  whose names he'd never bothered to learn. He watched her smile at something a Ravenclaw boy said to her, the curls around her face bouncing as her shoulders shook slightly with laughter.</p>
<p>"Mate, did something crawl up your arse and die? And if so, did Granger personally put it there?" Nott asked. "You're glaring at the poor girl, maybe tone it down a notch eh?" <em>Shit. </em>He hadn't meant to be staring, he most certainly wasn't glaring at her. If anything, he was glaring at the stupid Ravenclaw who was sitting awfully close to be considered proper at breakfast.</p>
<p>"I'm not glaring at anyone Nott; I'm eating my breakfast." He pointedly took a bite of his toast, raising an eyebrow at his friend in a silent challenge to argue with him. Nott just smirked at him knowingly before he waved a first year over to him. Draco didn't hear whatever he whispered in the boy's ear, but he watched as the young Slytherin walked away from their table and across the hall to where the Hufflepuff's were sat.</p>
<p>"What're you playing at Nott?" He asked tightly as the boy approached Granger's group of friends and tapped her on the shoulder.</p>
<p>"I don't know what ever it is you're talking about Malfoy." He answered innocently, failing to hide his smirk behind his teacup. Draco poured himself a cup of coffee whilst he watched her smile at the first year.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>"Excuse me, Hermione Granger?" There was a light tap on her shoulder that drew her attention away from Anthony Goldstein. Hermione turned to look at the young boy who'd addressed her. He was young -probably a first year- with short dirty blonde hair and thick-rimmed glasses. She smiled at him and when he returned the gesture, she noticed he was missing one of his front teeth.</p>
<p>"Hi there, what's your name?" She asked him softly, she could tell he was nervous from the way he kept shifting his weight from one foot to the other. He was wearing Slytherin robes, so his discomfort surrounded by older students from the other houses was understandable.</p>
<p>"I'm Darius Horncliffe Miss, Mr. Nott told me to ask you if you'd like to accompany him to Hogsmeade this afternoon after lunch, but he said I should tell you that he's inviting you as a friend that's all." He closed his eyes as he spoke, like he was trying hard to remember everything he was supposed to say. "He also said that if you want to go with him to just give him a thumbs up, but if you want to say no you have to stomp on my toes."</p>
<p>He frowned at this last part and she noticed he tried to shuffle backwards subtly, as though to protect his feet from her. Hermione directed a disapproving frown in the direction of where Theodore was sitting before she turned her attention back to Darius.</p>
<p>"Don't worry Darius nobody will be stepping on your toes this morning." To prove her point she directed a thumbs up across the hall to the Slytherin table. "Would you mind passing a message back to him for me?" He nodded eagerly.</p>
<p>For their entire interaction thus far, Darius had been studying his shoes intently but at her words, he lifted his head and met her eyes with a smile. <em>Shit</em>. Hermione grimaced slightly as she received the onslaught of <em>wow, she's so nice everyone says the other houses are rude to us because we're Slytherins, but I like her. </em>Averting her eyes in the hopes that it would wear off soon, she relayed her message to the young boy.</p>
<p>"Could you please tell Theodore that I will meet him at the front of the castle after lunch time? Also, feel free to remind him for me that you are not an owl and next time he can come ask me himself." She gave the boy one last smile before he turned and rushed back to the Slytherins.</p>
<p>"So" Ginny's voice startled her from across the table "going on casual dates with supposed one-night-stands now, are we?" The red-head's voice was muffled by her arm from where she lay with her head on the table half-asleep.</p>
<p>"It's rude to eavesdrop Ginevra" Hermione scolded her playfully. "Plus, you heard what Darius said, Theodore invited me just as a friend." She poured herself another cup of tea, adding in her usual three spoons of honey and stirring.</p>
<p>"Hmm okay if you say so." She didn't sound at all like she believed a word Hermione said. "I'll let you know if Binns says anything important in History of Magic, but that seems unlikely." Ginny propped herself back up into a sitting position and started to eat a muffin, ripping off bite-sized chunks. "Someone should probably call hell while we're at it to see if its frozen over yet," she drawled sarcastically "you know, since Hermione Granger is skipping class to spend time with a boy, and a Slytherin no less."</p>
<p>This earned Ginny a laugh from all of their friends who'd heard the exchange, and a piece of well-aimed toast in the forehead from Hermione.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Reflective sunglasses firmly in place, Hermione ventured out the front doors of the castle in search of Theodore. He was sitting underneath a large willow tree near the entrance to the castle smoking when she walked outside.</p>
<p> She took a seat beside him, leaning against the trunk of the tree and taking out her own pack of cigarettes. He gave her a semi-surprised look when she lit hers with her wand, taking a drag before she spoke.</p>
<p>"You mean to tell me that Theodore Nott -heir to the Sacred-28 Nott bloodline and son of the notorious death eater who killed more muggles than the rest of Voldemort's inner circle combined- smokes muggle cigarettes?"</p>
<p>"Granger if we're going to be friends, I really must insist you call me Theo. But yes, as you can see, I'm quite dependent on nicotine. Have been since sixth year."</p>
<p>"Hmm, your father must be rolling in his grave somewhere knowing his pureblood heir is soiling his body with muggle substances."</p>
<p>He looked at her amusedly, letting out a cynical laugh as he took a contemplative inhale, tapping the ashes into a small pile on the grass beside him.</p>
<p>"Yes, well I'm a firm believer that '<em>ain't no rest for the wicked</em>' should extend to death as well, and my father was most certainly wicked."</p>
<p>"And he quotes muggle music." She exclaimed in a fake shocked tone. "Nott Sr. would be most disappointed." Theo smirked at her words but shook his head slightly.</p>
<p>"It is my life's aspiration to disappoint that son of a bitch -which I can say because my Grandmother was also vile- as much as possible, but you're wrong." It was Hermione's turn to look at him questioningly now.</p>
<p>"Not a muggle band" he clarified, shrugging. He put out the butt of his cigarette before he pulled out another from his pocket -as well as a zippo lighter- and lit it.</p>
<p>"What do you mean not a muggle band Theo?" She asked.</p>
<p>"They're not a muggle band. Though they aren't magical per-se either. They're squibs the lot of 'em. You'd probably be surprised how much muggle music is actually magic." She looked over at him in surprise before she smiled, realising his tone was purely factual. There was no pureblood sneer that she would have anticipaited with his words. He returned her expression with a small smirk.</p>
<p>"So, we're going to Hogsmeade as friends? What made you decide to befriend me all of a sudden? Not that I mind terribly, so far you're not awful to spend time with." She put out the butt of her cigarette and leaned her head against the trunk of the tree, staring into the leaves above her head and relaxing into the head rush.</p>
<p>"Why thank you." He responded sarcastically. "I've never had anything against you Granger, except that you always managed to score higher than me in charms no matter how much extra studying I did." She rolled her eyes at his words, expecting a swot joke but it never came. "Plus-" she could hear the mischievousness in his words "I figured it would bother Draco, and I'm always looking to get a rise out of him."</p>
<p>Hermione looked over at him curiously. Silently she wondered to herself why Theo inviting her to Hogsmeade as friends would bother Malfoy. She was about to open her mouth to ask when she remembered what she told herself the night before. <em>Some things are better left alone, and Malfoy is definitely one of those things. </em>While she was mentally sweeping Malfoy under the metaphorical rug, Theo pulled out his third cigarette, having already finished his second.</p>
<p>"Merlin you're almost as bad as Harry with the chain smoking." She exclaimed, reaching over and snatching it out of his hand to put it out. "C'mon, you said we're going to Hogsmeade and I'm skipping History of Magic right now so let's go." She vanished the ashes and butts with a wave of her hand before she stood and smoothed her skirt. Theo stood beside her and dusted some dirt off himself from the ground. Once collected, the two made their way down towards the small village side by side.</p>
<p>After spending a little over an hour walking around Hogsmeade, Hermione decided that she didn't dislike spending time with Theo, he reminded her of a more dirty-minded version of Harry. They had stopped to get ice cream from Fortescue's, and he had refused to allow her to get vanilla because 'you can't bloody expect a bloke to think <em>just-friends </em>thoughts while you're sitting there licking white cream off anything Granger I don't care if its an ice cream cone'.</p>
<p>They had just started their walk back to the school, arms laden with bags from Honeydukes and the few other shops they'd stopped in.</p>
<p>"You know Theo," she started. "I find you're much more pleasant to spend time with than most Slytherins." He laughed quietly at her words.</p>
<p>"Not all Slytherins are bad once you get to know us, though I must confess the hat did try and put me in Ravenclaw. I think I look much better in green and silver than I ever would in blue and bronze so thank Merlin I talked it out of that one."</p>
<p>She laughed with him a lot as they chatted during their walk. Hermione couldn't remember the last time she'd laughed as much in one afternoon as she had today with Theo. And she told him as such.</p>
<p>"You know I had a lot of fun today Theo, we should do this more often." She said with a smile when they arrived at the entrance to the castle.</p>
<p>"I agree Granger"</p>
<p>"I think it's only fair that if I'm going to call you Theo, you should call me Hermione."</p>
<p>"Hmm that's a mouthful, can I call you 'Mione like the rest of the hero-clan?"</p>
<p>"Only if you promise never to refer to us as the 'hero-clan' ever again."</p>
<p>"It's a deal."</p>
<p>The two parted ways in the Great hall; Hermione towards the library to meet up with Ginny and get her notes from the class she'd missed, and Theo down towards the dungeons.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Vocatus</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Draco was walking through the castle to try and clear his head. He was pissed at Nott, but he wasn't entirely sure why. He had no claim over Granger so it should be fine that she went to Hogsmeade with him today, so why did Draco want nothing more than to beat his friend into a bloody pulp? Hence, he was walking through the darkened castle at one in the morning instead of sleeping.</p>
<p>He was just about to start making his way back towards his dorm when he heard a loud clattering from the entrance to astronomy tower. <em>Stupid bloody Head Boy responsibilities</em>. With a heavy sigh he started up the steps to the one place in the castle he avoided at all costs.</p>
<p>Draco was prepared to find a whole array of things at the top of the stairs; a couple groping, a couple of younger year students dueling, maybe a few rogue death eaters trying to murder the headmaster. What he was not expecting to find was a very dishevelled looking Head Girl stumbling around with a bottle in her hand.</p>
<p>"Aww it's Malfoy in the flesh, here to jump me again and then run off?" She slurred in greeting when she caught sight of him standing at the entrance.</p>
<p>"Are you drunk Granger? It's after curfew, what are you doing up here?" She was stumbling dangerously close to the railing.</p>
<p>"What an astute observation. Yes, I am drunk if you must know, but not as drunk as I'd like to be." She sat on the floor of the tower, dangling her legs over the edge and leaning her upper body against the cold metal of the railing.</p>
<p>"Well, I'll leave you to it. Try not to fall over the railing and die, won't you?" He made to leave the tower again when she called after him.</p>
<p>"Or you could stay? I've got more than enough to share, plus I wouldn't mind the company of someone who's mind I can't read." She held up the bottle before gesturing for him to come sit beside her. "Plus" she added with a cynical laugh "you can make sure I don't pull a Dumbledore and Humpty Dumpty myself off the tower. C'mon Malfoy let's call a truce. Come drink with me."</p>
<p>He winced at the mention of the old headmaster. Draco took a seat on the hard-stone floor a small distance away from her, his back against the railing so his legs extended towards the centre of the tower. Granger handed over the bottle of clear liquor and he took a swig, immediately recognizing the taste of the mystery alcohol he'd tasted when he kissed her so many weeks ago.</p>
<p>"What is that? It burns almost as bad as firewhiskey." He exclaimed after he'd swallowed his mouthful. Wrinkling his nose into a face when he handed the bottle back to her.</p>
<p>"Tequila, it's muggle. You get used to the taste, it doesn't give you hangovers so it's great for during the week." She said all this in the same tone he would've expected her to recite the twelve uses for dragon's blood. Her forehead was resting against one of the bars of the railings and she was watching her feet swing through the air.</p>
<p>"Hey Granger?" He asked tentatively.</p>
<p>"Hmm?" she hummed in acknowledgement, still not looking up from her feet as she took another sip from the bottle and handed it to him.</p>
<p>"Don't laugh" he gave her a pointed look and drank more before he asked his question. "What's a Humpy Dumpy?" She looked at him then, her face cracking into a smile before she started laughing hysterically.</p>
<p>He frowned at her, not particularly appreciating being laughed at. She noticed his face and made an effort to calm down her laughter, taking several deep breaths and wiping away a tear that had escaped.</p>
<p>"Sorry, sorry Malfoy I didn't mean to laugh. I suppose that's a fair question." She gave him an apologetic look and then continued. "<em>Humpty Dumpty </em>is a poem that muggles tell their children." Granger had a sad smile on her face now, and Draco noticed her tears had returned, though not tears of laughter this time.</p>
<p>"My mother used to tell it to me whenever I got upset that something didn't go my way." She looked off into the distance as she recited the rhyme in a sing-song voice.</p>
<p>"<em>Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall.</em></p>
<p>
  <em>Humpty Dumpty had a great fall.</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>All the King's horses, and all the King's men,</em>
</p>
<p>
  <em>Couldn't put Humpty together again."</em>
</p>
<p>He just looked at her, still confused.</p>
<p>"She always said that it's about perseverance. That nobody could put him back together because he had to do it himself. My mother always said that just like him, I shouldn't depend on others to fix my mistakes or do things for me."</p>
<p>"Your mother sounds really smart." She nodded in agreement, wiping her eyes and taking a deep breath to collect herself.</p>
<p>"Yes, well she probably still is, can't know for sure though can I?" She looked at him, her eyes were rimmed red from crying. "You said it yourself, I wiped myself from their memories and sent them halfway around the world.</p>
<p>"I owe you an apology for that Granger, hell I owe you a thousand but I'm just going to start with one." She opened her mouth, probably to stop him or argue but he kept talking. "No let me say it please. I'm sorry I said those things about your parents when we were arguing the day after the party. You were smart to have <em>obliviate</em>'d them, and it was incredibly brave of you to do so knowing you might not get them back. What I said was cruel and I don't expect your forgiveness, hell I wouldn't blame you if you never stop hating me."</p>
<p>He took another long drink from the bottle; the burn wasn't as noticeable now and he was starting to feel drunk.</p>
<p>"Thank you, Malfoy, but I feel like I should tell you that I don't hate you. I don't think I ever did."</p>
<p>"How?" He blurted the question before he could decide if he really wanted to know the answer.</p>
<p>"How what?"</p>
<p>"How can you not hate me? I've always been awful to you, I called you horrible names, I taunted you and mocked you for years, and that's all before I joined the death eaters and tried to kill Dumbledore, and before I stood and watched as my aunt tortured you on the floor of my drawing room. How do you not hate me Granger? I think I might hate me."</p>
<p>He noticed her hand come up to rest over her sleeve where he knew her scar was, but she just smiled softly at him.</p>
<p>"I don't hate you Malfoy, you didn't <em>crucio </em>me that day or kill my friends. You were just a kid whose parents chose the wrong side and made him choose the wrong side with them."</p>
<p>"You don't know that, I ridiculed you for years because of your blood status before the war too, how can you just say it's not my fault and be okay with that?" He knew he had raised his voice incredulously, the alcohol in his system coupled with his disbelief that she was actually saying these things wasn't helping his control. "How are you not angry?"</p>
<p>"Oh I'm angry, trust me. Every time I think back to what we went through, my blood boils I'm so angry. But I'm not angry at you." He started to say something in response, but she talked over him.</p>
<p>"I'm angry with all the grown-ups who let us be a part of the war, who made us get involved. We were children, fucking kids, and they put us on the front lines to die for them just like they did to Harry's Mum and Dad, and Sirius and Remus and Neville's parents. It wasn't fucking fair, letting children fight a war that started long before any of us were even born. I mean, I'm nineteen years old and I've got battle scars and PTSD. Did you know I killed someone before I had my first relationship? Or that I had a will written after fourth year?"</p>
<p>She was crying again. The angry were rolling down her cheeks, leaving wet streaks that reflected the moonlight off of them. Draco wanted to comfort her, but he didn't know how, he'd never been good with dealing with emotions. He silently handed her back the bottle, sensing she wasn't done talking.</p>
<p>Instead of accepting the drink from him, she set it down on the other side of her and moved to curl up at his side, back pressed up against the railing now. Draco tentatively wrapped her arm around her small shoulders as she continued.</p>
<p>"I was at your trial, I know it was like that on both sides. If anything, I have a feeling you had it worse than we did. You, Theo, Pansy, Blaise, Daphne. You were all marked, weren't you? You all have the same arm bands to cover them. At least our side didn't threaten us with torture and death if we made a mistake. If I hate anyone, I hate Dumbledore, Voldemort, Snape, your father. They took away our innocence too young, turned us into monsters and fucking martyrs."</p>
<p>He felt the tension leave her body when she was done ranting, as though the words had been weighing her down. He held her tighter then, whether for her or himself he didn't know. He'd all but given up keeping his walls secure around her, Granger just had such an emotional presence that it was nearly impossible for him to remain stoic around her, more-so know that they were actually semi-getting along.</p>
<p>"I suppose you're not wrong. None of them particularly wanted the mark. Pansy was marked because she had no brother to be marked in her place, Daphne because if not her it would've been Astoria. Blaise was marked to prove his mother's allegiance, and Theo was marked as a reward for his father from Voldemort."</p>
<p>She gave a cynical laugh but otherwise didn't say anything, instead allowing him to fill the silence.</p>
<p>"The war changed us all so much. Daphne and Blaise both started using drugs and potions to get through the day back in seventh year and never kicked the habit. Pansy became obsessive about defensive magic; the girl knows more curses than anyone else I've ever met. Theo has become an all-around slag since the war. You know back in sixth year he was still a virgin? Now he buries his problems in anyone who will let him."</p>
<p>"What about you? Everyone has their own way of dealing with the war. Other than the drinking yourself to sleep obviously." He looked over at her in surprise "Don't look so shocked" she smiled up at him knowingly. "It's fairly obvious, I don't know if I've ever seen you completely sober since we got off the train."</p>
<p>Draco opted to divert the conversation away from himself, not ready to admit his cowardice to the Gryffindor whose head was resting on his chest.</p>
<p>"What about you? Golden girl. Why are you drinking yourself stupid all hours of the day and taking enough <em>sine sensu </em>potions to knock out a manticore -I got an O in potions too you know, I know what a pain potion looks like- instead of going off and making the world a better place with The-Boy-Who-Lived and the Weasel?"</p>
<p>She gave a bitter laugh at his words.</p>
<p>"Boy-who-lived, golden girl; they're all fucking titles given to us to make it seem like war is something you can come out on the other side of all fresh and shiny. I don't want to make the world better anymore. I did it once and look at me now. I'm fucking broken. Did you know <em>avada kedavra </em>doesn't work on the caster? I learned that about a week <em>after </em>the final battle. Deadly curses can't kill you if you try to use them on yourself. I even tried <em>diffindo </em>a few times; across my wrists, my throat, my femoral artery; all I got was a few little paper cuts and I just couldn't do it with a regular knife. Can't buy the ingredients for a <em>mortem </em>potion even illegally anywhere within owling distance of London either, trust me I tried for a while. Basically though, fuck fixing the world, I don't know if I even want to make myself better anymore."</p>
<p>He considered trying to comfort her or reassure her with words of hope or positivity. Maybe tell her it gets better eventually but that wasn't Draco. He wasn't sunshine and rainbows, he was dark and gloomy, plus she deserved better than lies.</p>
<p>"I once tried to carve the dark mark out of my arm, I learned the same thing about the severing charm, so I used a hunting knife I found in my Grandfather's study. I actually managed to get the thing off before I passed out from the pain and blood loss. Turns out dark magic is self-healing, by the time I came around it had completely healed over, so now I've still got the mark and I added a nice scar all the way around it." He lifted his sleeve and pushed his arm band down to show her his arm.</p>
<p>Draco watched as she took his arm in her small hand, running a finger softly over the raised pink scar that drew a border around the ugly mark.</p>
<p>"You know," he continued as she traced the lines of the dark mark with her fingertips. "When I first got the mark, I felt so honoured to have been marked. There was an entire day between when I was marked and when he ordered me to kill Dumbledore, where I'd never been prouder of myself."</p>
<p>She'd stopped tracing his arm and instead wrapped both her arms around his, cuddling closer to him with her cheek pressed to the fabric on his chest when she responded.</p>
<p>"What do you mean? It was okay to be a part of a murderous gang before you had to actually murder someone?" There was no anger or malice in her words, just genuine curiosity. She didn't seem horrified by his admission.</p>
<p>"Voldemort wasn't always about blood purity; in the early days it was about liberating the wizarding world and that was what we all believed it still was about. All most of the pureblood families wanted was to not have to hide from the muggle world and pretend as though we don't exist. I mean, did you ever stop to wonder why all magical beings know about muggles, but they don't know about us? It never used to be that way. Then there came Catholicism and then events like Salem were happening all the time. We've been in hiding for generations. I mean sure most of us believed purebloods were superior to half-bloods and mudbloods but for the most part we never wanted them dead."</p>
<p>"But you still say that word." It wasn't a question, just a fact.</p>
<p>"I've been trying not to for a while now, turns out it's a hard habit to break. But it's not an insult Granger, not really. Me calling you a mudblood is as much true as you calling me a pureblood. Sure, I could say "muggle born" instead but they're the same thing. You're still a magical being who came from non-magical parents either way. You should take the word mudblood and view it as empowering. It represents that us purebloods and half-bloods had an 11-year head start on you and you still managed to best us all. You've been top of every class we've ever attended at Hogwarts; not because you're a mudblood, but in spite of it. You helped Harry Potter destroy the darkest wizard we've ever seen, and you did it as a mudblood."</p>
<p>"I guess, I've never thought about it that way." She conceded. "You said you've been trying not to use it for a while, what made you want to stop?" She looked up at him with her big brown eyes when she asked this. In the moonlight, Draco could see that there were flecks of gold in the honey brown hues. <em>She looks like pure magic </em>he thought.</p>
<p>"Watching you scream on my drawing room floor." He answered honestly. "It's one day I'll never forget. You were so strong, even when you thought Bellatrix was going to kill you, you didn't give up. I regret not helping you every day, I have nightmares about it sometimes."</p>
<p>"Me too." She whispered quietly.</p>
<p>"Do you remember that first night in the dorm? When I woke you up from your nightmare?" She laughed at the memory.</p>
<p>"Oh yes it was quite a lovely way to be woken up."</p>
<p>"I seem to remember someone returning the favour" he joked back. "What I was going to say though, was that when you first woke me up, I thought it was my nightmare not yours." She just hummed quietly in response to his words.</p>
<p>He looked down at her, hair laying around her head like a halo as she laid her head against his heartbeat. He could feel the warmth of her body heat where they touched. She still had both hands wrapped around his arm and was holding it against her sternum where she lay against his side.</p>
<p>
  <em>Oh, fuck it why not.</em>
</p>
<p>"Hey Granger?" He asked softly, hooking a finger under her chin to bring her gaze up to meet his eyes.</p>
<p>"Yeah?"</p>
<p>"Would it be alright if I kissed you right now?"</p>
<p>She grinned and nodded her head before she brought her lips up to press gently against his. This kiss was different from their last one. In the hallway they had been fiery and aggressive, this kiss was tender and unhurried. She opened her lips to allow his tongue entrance to her mouth. She still tasted like honey and tequila and what he now knew was pine from the potions she took. Her hands detached from his arm and one pressed against his stomach, steadying herself as she lifted herself up into a more upright position to reach him better.</p>
<p>Draco trailed his hand gently from under her chin to the back of her neck, trailing down to settle on the small of her back. She pulled away slightly to whisper against his lips, and he felt her hot breath against his moist lips.</p>
<p>"Promise me you won't go running away this time"</p>
<p>"I promise" he vowed before he pressed his lips to hers once again.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Initial</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Hermione was freezing when she woke up.</p>
<p>The sun was shining extra bright through her window and she could feel her ribs pressing uncomfortably into the cold stone floor of her bedroom. <em>Oh god, I must've fallen out of bed in my sleep. Wait-. </em>The floor of her room isn't stone, its wood planks with a rug, and her window was west facing not east, so the rising sun shouldn't be shining into her room.</p>
<p>She peeled her eyes fully open, her mind still foggy with sleep and the remnants of the tequila she'd drank last night. When she caught sight of the telescopes lining a wall of the tower, the memories of the night before came rushing back. All too quickly, Hermione realized that her head was in fact not resting on a pillow, but actually on someone's torso. It only took her another second or two to remember that that someone was in fact the Slytherin Head Boy.</p>
<p>Moving cautiously so as not to jostle him too much, she very quietly and slowly untangled her limbs from his and sat up to check the time on her wand. <em>6 am thank Merlin. </em>She let out a relieved sigh and tucked her wand back into her sleeve. Bracing herself for whatever mood he was bound to be in, Hermione gently jostled Malfoy's shoulder.</p>
<p>"Fuck off Theo" he grumbled quietly, rolling away from her and covering his eyes with his arm. She rolled her eyes and tried again.</p>
<p>"Oh for Godric's sake Malfoy, wake up. We should get back to the dorm before there are students in the halls, and after sleeping on the ground all night my muscles are in need of a hot shower before breakfast."</p>
<p>She saw in his body language the moment he registered who exactly was speaking; all of his muscles tensed, and he inhaled sharply. Malfoy slowly removed his arm from his face and groggily propped himself up into a sitting position, rubbing the remnants of sleep from his eyes. He looked ridiculously handsome for having just woken up. With his heavy hooded eyes and the messy blonde waves in his hair; she felt suddenly self-conscious, and half-heartedly attempted to flatten her hair</p>
<p>Hermione smiled hesitantly at him, not sure what to expect after everything they'd said and done the night before. He cleared his throat awkwardly, looking away from her and out at the morning sun.</p>
<p>"Granger," his voice was raspy from sleep still, she found it unreasonably attractive. "About last night..." he trailed off, looking uncertain about what exactly he wanted to say.</p>
<p>"It's alright Malfoy, I won't tell anyone about your moment of weakness cozying up to the swotty mudblood. We can just pretend it never happened, if you want." She offered, wanting to spare herself the humiliation of him saying it himself. He frowned, giving her a look that was confused, and maybe sad?</p>
<p>She allowed herself a moment to just look at him, they'd never sat face-to-face before like this without one throwing sneers or insults in the other's direction. He had always been very handsome -Hermione thought so, even in their younger years -. Malfoy was all edges; with high cheekbones, a sharp jawline and a pointed chin. His complexion had perpetually puzzled her. Despite his ghostly pallor; his white-blonde hair and cool grey eyes suited him perfectly. The slight pink tinge of his cheeks from the cold of the morning made him look younger.</p>
<p>"Is that what you want? You've a lot more to lose than me if the rumor of you and an ex-death eater gets out." His voice interrupted her observations.</p>
<p>"I don't see you as an ex-death eater Malfoy." She told him honestly. "You're just someone who did bad things because it seemed like the only option; and when you stop trying your damndest to be a royal prick, I actually quite like your company. I'm not sure about you, but I don't particularly want to pretend that last night never happened. Plus," she joked "it's been a few months since I've given old Skeeter some gossip to write about me."</p>
<p>"I don't want to pretend either, spending the last five weeks lying to myself was quite enough for me."</p>
<p>He smiled at her while he talked, and Hermione realized she didn't think she'd ever seen Draco Malfoy smile before. It looked nice on him. She shyly reached for his hand and interlaced her fingers with his.</p>
<p>"The thing is, I've spent the last seven years doing everything for everyone else -Harry, Ron, my parents, the entirety of the wizarding world-, if this, <em>us</em>, is something you want too, I'm not going to waste time doing it by halves." Malfoy seemed a little bit confused, so she clarified. "I don't share Malfoy. Not when it comes to relationships; I'm possessive, I get jealous and I don't like others trying to take what's mine." She pulled her hand away to make it easier if he said no and looked at him expectantly. "That's it, all my cards are on the table. If you want to give us a try, I do too."</p>
<p>He reached out and took her hand back in his, before he looked into her eyes. His facial expression was serious, and she felt a prickle of anxiety in her chest.</p>
<p>"I'm all in Granger. I've been all in since the first time I kissed you in the hallway that night, I think it just took me a while to realize it myself." He wrapped both of his hands around the one of hers he was holding and squeezed it gently as he kept talking, his voice solemn. "There is one thing though. We would have to keep us a secret," her displeasure at this must have been clear on her face because he added on quickly "not forever, just until we graduate."</p>
<p>Malfoy let out a resigned sigh and pulled her into him until she was sitting between his legs, forehead pressed into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. He spoke against the top of her head as he continued explaining.</p>
<p>"My father controls my inheritance still. Until I turn 19 this summer, he can legally disown me or have me locked up for insanity or basically anything else he pleases."</p>
<p>"Well that's that then." She declared with a tone of finality. Lifting her head and placing a chaste kiss on his lips. "We'll just have to keep it a secret for now, no biggie. Now get up we have to get back to our dorm, won't do us any good if the first day we get caught sneaking out of the astronomy tower together."</p>
<p>"I suppose since you told me I should tell you Granger." He was straightening his robes as he spoke, attempting to flatten out some of the creases he'd acquired while sleeping in them. "Just because nobody can know about us doesn't mean you're any less mine. I'm a spoiled only child and I've never been known to share my toys."</p>
<p>She smiled at his words, extending her hand for him to take as they descended the stairs. The two headed away from the tower towards the Head's dorm, Hermione walking a bit ahead of him and holding his hand behind her back down the quiet halls.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>"So I was thinking," Granger was leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom -toothbrush in hand- watching him tie the laces on his dress shoes. She was freshly showered with flushed cheeks and still dripping hair. "we probably should try calling each other by our first names, you know if we're going to try and do this whole relationship thing properly."</p>
<p>"You mean your first name isn't Granger? Are you sure?" He feigned ignorance as he shrugged on his robes, leaving them open for now, but couldn't help but smirk when she scoffed loudly.</p>
<p>"I'm serious Malf- <em>Draco</em>. C'mon give it a try." Draco liked the way his name sounded when she said it. The only people who used his first name were his family, Pansy, and occasionally his friends. In his opinion, it sounded much better coming out of her mouth.</p>
<p>"Okay but here's the issue," He patted himself for his wand, making sure it was tucked into the pocket of his robes where he usually kept it. "<em>Hermione </em>is such a mouthful to say." His smirk only grew when he caught her eye roll as she turned to return her toothbrush to the holder by the sink.</p>
<p>"I'm terribly sorry my name is such an inconvenience to you." Her tone was thick with sarcasm as she walked into the common room with her school bag.</p>
<p>"Your apology is much appreciated Granger." She pouted at him playfully when he used her surname.</p>
<p>"I'm going to breakfast now, see you around the castle I suppose." She was right in front of him now. Granger -<em>Hermione </em>he corrected himself- pushed herself up onto her tiptoes and pressed her lips against his. Draco brought his arm around her waist to pull her body flush against his. He was the first to break their kiss but kept her pressed up against him as he rested his chin on top of her head.</p>
<p>"How am I supposed to keep my hands off you huh Granger?" He teased, squeezing her tighter. "I've only just started being allowed to touch you; I never want to stop." She wiggled out of his embrace with a laugh.</p>
<p>"I'm sure you can manage until tonight. Don't be so dramatic." She kissed his cheek chastely before she walked towards the exit of the common.</p>
<p>"I'm not happy you're leaving, but the sight of you doing so is rather lovely." He called after her cheekily as he ogled at her. Her laughs echoed around the room for a moment after the door closed behind her. He went about making gathering his books and parchment and shoving them into his bag before leaving the dorm and heading to breakfast.</p>
<p>His walk to the great hall was unusually pleasant. He wasn't hungover for the first time in a long time, and he felt content knowing that there would be a witch -his witch- waiting for him at the end of the day. His mood was so improved today, that Draco even felt inclined to stop on his way and rescue a first year Ravenclaw from Peeves' antics.</p>
<p>His good mood was destined to be short-lived, however. He walked through the double doors of the great hall and headed straight to his usual seat without looking around at the other tables. All of his friends were already present at breakfast except for Nott, who oddly was usually the first to arrive. He greeted them all as he took his seat across from Zabini.</p>
<p>"Where's Nott this morning? Daphne got him tied to her bed again?" He joked, pouring himself a cup of tea and grabbing some toast off a plate in front of him.</p>
<p>"Oh no," Zabini drawled with a smirk "it's much funnier than that." He gestured with his head to the Gryffindor table. Draco's hold on his butter knife tightened until his knuckles were white when he finally found his friend among the sea of students. He was sitting at the Gryffindor's table beside Hermione, with his arm thrown over her shoulder.</p>
<p>He watched tensely as Nott leaned in to whisper something in her ear, and Draco felt his knuckles pop from gripping his cutlery so tight when she laughed at whatever he said. She looked comfortable sitting next to him, in his embrace. His blood boiled under his skin and he could feel his magic cracking angrily at his fingertips.</p>
<p>"Isn't it hilarious?" He heard Zabini ask, his voice was muddled by the pounding in his ears. "Figures it would be Nott who would try and cozy up to Gryffindor's resident mudblood." The rest of his friends laughed at this, but he didn't respond or react. Draco was too busy watching the way she leaned into him slightly as she reached across the table, and the way he pushed a stray curl away from her face when she turned to look at him.</p>
<p>Forgetting about his breakfast entirely, he got up from the table and grabbed his bag, throwing it over his shoulder and storming out of the hall without another thought. He heard his friends calling after him, but he ignored them, opting to be early for potions rather than stay.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Vindicta</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Well good morning 'Mione" Ginny waltzed up to walk alongside her on the way to potions.</p><p>"It is a good morning Gin" she responded cheerfully, offering her friend a broad smile.</p><p>"Oh yes, would you care to tell me why exactly you're in such a good mood all of a sudden, when you've been walking around with your own personal gloom cloud the last few months?" Her friend offered her a knowing smirk, raising an eyebrow at her questioningly.</p><p>"I dunno, would you care to tell me why you weren't at breakfast this morning even though Parvati said you were gone before they all woke up this morning?" She returned the red head's cheeky look as she continued slyly. "Maybe, it has something to do with why your buttons are mis-matched and your stockings are inside out?"</p><p>"Alright fine, you keep your secrets and I'll keep mine" Ginny raised her hands up in surrender before she went about quickly fastening her robes closed to cover her rumpled uniform. Linking her arm with Hermione's, she gave the girl a mischievous smile.</p><p>"I dunno what that look is about Ginevra, but unless you want me to <em>langlock </em>your tongue to the roof of your mouth I suggest you keep whatever is in that head of yours to yourself." She said tersely, crinkling her eyebrows into a scowl.</p><p>"Oh, its nothing really." The red head remarked casually, tightening her hold on Hermione's arm so she couldn't try to escape the conversation. "It's just that you said there's nothing going on between you and Theodore Nott; but I heard from Dean Thomas that he sat with you at breakfast this morning."</p><p>"He did." She responded blandly.</p><p>"Okay so let me just make sure my facts are up to date." The impish smile on Ginny's face triggered alarm bells to start going off in her head. "First, you have hot and dirty sex with him during a <em>supposed </em>one-night-stand." She looked over to Hermione for confirmation. She cringed and nodded once. "Second," her friend continued "you skip class to accompany him to Hogsmeade when he invited you"</p><p>"As friends" she emphasized.</p><p>"Yes of course as <em>friends "</em>Ginny responded dismissively. "Finally; the day after you two go to Hogsmeade together, the <em>Slytherin</em>chooses to sit at the <em>Gryffindor </em>table for breakfast with you. Specifically, with his arm around you like you two are best mates or maybe something <em>more</em>."</p><p>Hermione sighed heavily, knowing already that convincing her there was nothing happening between herself and Theo was going to be a losing battle.</p><p>"So, tell me 'Mione," her friend concluded as they arrived at the potions class. "Where exactly along the way, did I misinterpret the facts? Hm?" Before she could actually defend herself to her friend, Ginny was walking away to take her seat next to Terry Boot, smirking over her shoulder at Hermione one last time.</p><p>She let out a dramatic sigh as she plopped onto her stool next to Draco, letting her bag fall to the ground next to her seat with a dull <em>thud</em>. She turned towards him to say something, but the intense glower on his face caused her words to die on her tongue.</p><p>"Everything okay Draco?" She asked tentatively, they'd only parted ways an hour ago. <em>What could've possible put him into such a mood already </em>she wondered to herself exasperatedly. As soon as she spoke, he seemed to snap out of his thoughts, his frown morphing into one of his signature Slytherin smirks.</p><p>"So much better now that you're here" he drawled suggestively. Hermione felt his hand settle on her bare knee -having foregone stockings this morning- and his thumb start to rub small circles onto her skin. His hands were warm in contrast to the cool metal of the ring on his middle finger, and he had callouses on his palms -from his broom handle most likely- that dragged across her skin more harshly than his fingertips did.</p><p>"Draco, someone is going to see you. What happened to keeping this a secret?" Slughorn had started class at some point after she'd sat down, she wasn't sure how long he'd already been talking for, however. She'd been distracted.</p><p>"You worry too much; nobody is watching us." He spoke lowly, keeping his head trained towards the front of the class as he kept talking. "Besides, the front of the potions desk covers our legs, remember? Nobody can see anything. Not to mention-"She felt his hand creep half an inch higher up her leg, his pinky brushing the hem of her skirt. "it's not like I'm doing anything wrong."</p><p>Hermione held her breath slightly as his fingers lightly squeezed her leg before resuming their soothing circles. Returning her focus to the professor and attempting to ignore every time his hand moved marginally higher.</p><p>At the half-way mark of their double potions block; Draco's hand was completely hidden under her skirt and Hermione was practically shaking with built up sexual frustration. Her hand had a white-knuckle grip on her quill and she'd already left half a dozen ink blots on her notes, not to mention she was going to have to change her knickers after class she was so aroused. Her.</p><p>She actually broke her quill in half when his fingertip lightly grazed her slit through her panties. Taking a deep, steadying breath, Hermione squeezed her thighs together to halt his movements and hunched her shoulders as she fixed her gaze on the tabletop.</p><p>"I don't know what exactly you're trying at right now Draco, but in case you've forgotten, we are in <em>class</em>." She hissed through clenched teeth. He laughed softly at her words. <em>That son of a bitch</em>.</p><p>"I saw you at breakfast this morning." His voice was thick with jealous rage despite his low volume when he responded. "letting Nott paw at you like some common slag." She opened her mouth to argue but he pushed her knickers aside to roughly pinch her clit. Hermione pulled her bottom lip between her teeth to stifle the moan that threatened to escape.</p><p>"I told you this morning Granger" he was drawing those lazy circles again -this time through her wetness- as he whispered harshly next to her ear. "I don't fucking share." He slipped a single digit inside of her and Hermione had to bite down on her fist to keep from moaning aloud at the intrusion.</p><p>"D-Draco" she whispered breathlessly, "Theo and I are just friends I promise."</p><p>"Oh, it's Theo now is it? How friendly of you two." He slipped another finger inside of her. Her moan escaped slightly this time, but she quickly covered it with a cough. Professor Slughorn gave her a concerned side-glance at the interruption but continued monologuing, nonetheless. "You expect me to just sit and watch you crawl all over his lap at breakfast and for there to be no repercussions?" His thumb was rubbing circles over her clit now too. Hermione could feel her orgasm building low in her abdomen. "Because if that's what you thought, you were very fucking wrong."</p><p>"Draco, if you keep it up I'm going to cum." she warned, her voice shaky.</p><p>"Isn't that what you want? Don't you want to cum? I mean that's what all whores want, no?" His fingers were pumping into her faster now, curling up against that spot behind her bellybutton that made the pressure build inside of her. "I bet you fucking love having my fingers deep inside your pussy in the middle of class like a dirty little whore, hm? I mean you're so wet right now I'm surprised you aren't dripping off the stool already."</p><p>She grasped the edge of the potions desk with one hand and onto his wrist with the other to steady herself. Her legs were shaking with the effort of staying still against his endeavors.</p><p>"I bet you're just dying to cum on my fingers like the filthy fucking slut you are, aren't you?"</p><p>She nodded her head slightly, barely managing to stutter out a "Y-yes." Just as she felt her body tense up and her orgasm start to overtake her, his hand stilled inside of her. Very slowly, he pulled his fingers away and removed his hand from her body completely.</p><p>"Too bad, orgasms are for good girls. Maybe when you feel inclined to remember whose witch you are next time some twat tries to fondle you at breakfast, I'll feel inclined to reward you."</p><p>Hermione let out the tiniest of whines at the loss of his touch and the denial of her release. Her pussy throbbed aggressively when she watched him place one of his fingers -still shining with the evidence of her arousal- in his mouth and suck it clean. He did the same to the other finger that had been inside of her moments before as well.</p><p>"You taste delicious darling." He whispered with a smirk before picking up his quill and returning to taking notes as though nothing had happened. <em>Oh, I'm going to fucking kill him </em>she vowed silently.</p><p>--</p><p>Draco was going to kill Nott. No, he was going to rip his hands off and feed them to the giant squid. No, he was going to feed them to him and then feed <em>him </em>to the giant squid. He was going to burn all of the nerves in his hands so he would never be able to feel Granger -<em>Hermione- </em>under his touch again.</p><p>There were dozens of dark curses and hexes swirling around his mind as he followed his unknowing, curly-haired friend and Zabini through the castle. Eventually, the two turned down a vacant hallway and Draco's temper finally reached a boiling point.</p><p>Without another thought, he flicked his wand and sent the two boys flying into opposite walls, where he immobilized them with their backs against the brick.</p><p>"What the fuck Malfoy?" Zabini exclaimed incredulously, struggling against his invisible bindings. Nott was silent as he fixed Draco with a truimphant smirk.</p><p>"Oh I fucking knew-"Before he could finish his sentence, Draco slammed his fist into the side of the boy's face so hard his head snapped to the side. Zabini was still shouting behind him, but he was hyper-focused on how satisfying it felt when blood sprayed from Nott's mouth and spattered onto his face.</p><p>"Stay. The. Fuck. Away. From. Her." He enunciated each word with another blow until his friend's face was a satisfying mosaic of bruises and blood. Despite being bloody and missing a tooth, Nott offered Draco a broad smile and laughed weakly, stopping to spit out blood between chuckles.</p><p>"She's good for you Draco" he said quietly, so their friend on the other side of the hall wouldn't hear. "If she makes you feel this angry, maybe she can help you feel other things too. Maybe you'll let her help you bring down those walls in your mind hm?"</p><p>Instead of responding, he landed one more punch -this one in his stomach- before he released the spell on both of his friends. Zabini landed on his feet but Nott fell forward onto Draco with a pained groan.</p><p>"Now that you've beat me to a -literal- bloody pulp, mind helping a bloke to the hospital wing?"</p><p>With a roll of his eyes, he threw one of the brunette's arms over his shoulder. Zabini gave Draco a wary glance as he supported their injured friend from the other side. The trio made their way slowly to the infirmary, Nott cracking jokes every once in a while, as they walked through the castle.</p><p>The three must've looked a sight walking down the halls of the castle; Blaise still perfectly composed, Theo bruised and limping and supported between his friends, and Draco with his split knuckles and blood-spattered face. Draco felt a genuine warmth flare-up in his chest as he walked with his friends, one that he'd never felt before, but it was similar to the feeling he'd gotten last night in the tower when Hermione told him she'd never hated him.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0016"><h2>16. Sano</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Draco Lucius Malfoy!" The angry words carried through the dorm to where he was laying on his back staring up at the canopy of his bed. He heard her kick off her shoes by the entrance and stomp -which sounded much less intimidating when one was wearing socks- across the small sitting area towards his room. "I swear to Merlin I'm going to hex your- why the fuck are you covered in blood?" Her voice rose in pitch a few octaves as she crossed the threshold of his bedroom and caught sight of him. He probably looked frightful with his friend's blood all over his face and shirt and his own crusted over his bruised knuckles.</p>
<p>"I punched Nott." He responded shortly, not taking his eyes off the emerald green fabric hanging above his head. He stared blankly as the silver embroidered patterns shifted in and out of focus. She made an annoyed choking sound in the back of her throat and he felt the mattress shift when she sat at the foot of the bed, her back resting against a bed post. He lifted his head to look at her, she seemed to be attempting to reign in her flared temper. The ends of her hair had become sentient in her anger and were occasionally sending off red sparks even as she took deep, even breaths.</p>
<p>Eventually, her hair settled onto her shoulders once again and the air around them felt less thick with magic when she managed to calm herself down somewhat. Draco didn't flinch when she lifted her wand and aimed it at his face; whether because he trusted her not to curse him or because he frankly didn't care if she did, well it was a toss-up at the moment.</p>
<p>"Why did you punch Theo?" She asked softly after she'd vanished the blood from his cheek.</p>
<p>"I was jealous." He responded honestly as he propped himself up to sit against the headboard of his bed and look at her.</p>
<p>"Again with this bullshit about him sitting with me at breakfast? We're just friends Draco." She sounded exasperated as she cocked her head to the side inquisitively, her eyes gleaming with concern.</p>
<p>"No, because he touched you." He growled quietly, his cheeks burning slightly with anger and embarrassment.</p>
<p>"He just put his arm around me, Harry does the same thing sometimes, so does Ron-"he cut her off.</p>
<p>"No Hermione, not because he put his arm around you. Because he <em>touched </em>you!" He shouted, the air around them was cracking with magic -his magic- again. "because he f<em>ucked </em>you. Because he's allowed to sit with you at breakfast and invite you to Hogsmeade with him. Because he's been with you in ways I haven't, and it makes me want to tear his hands off at the wrist for ever getting to touch you and do all those things. It's one thing to ignore random blokes who leer at you from a distance, but you've had Nott, you <em>know </em>him in ways you don't know me. I'm jealous and I want to kill him -but I didn't really fancy Azkaban- so I settled for punching him a few times instead."</p>
<p>She took another deep breath as the ends of her hair started lifting again slightly. The look she gave him would probably have caused a more sensible man to back down from the staring contest the two were now engaged in; but despite being a Slytherin, his sense of self-preservation had expired long ago. So, he returned her narrowed angry gaze with one of his own until she audibly growled in fury.</p>
<p>"And that stunt you pulled in potions, that's what that was about? You think I ever let Theo pull shit like that?" She stood from her place on his bed and paced angrily towards the door, turning around to face him with a fierce look. "Because I don't, and I am right bloody pissed at you for ruining my knickers <em>and </em>I didn't even get to finish -which I haven't forgotten-. Theo and I had sex once Draco. Once! It meant <em>nothing</em> to either of us, so get that through your thick head already or I will put it there with my wand in ways you will not like." Her voice was steady and unnervingly calm. Draco had the good sense to realize that the witch was serious in her threats. "Now get up," she ordered sharply "you look like you walked out of a fucking horror movie still."</p>
<p>He stood and followed her out of the room -wondering what the fuck a <em>horror movie </em>was and how you walk through one- and down the hall into their shared bathroom. She pushed him to sit on the edge of the bathtub as she ran the hot water. She grabbed a bar of soap and a flannel and sat on his knees to wipe the blood she'd missed with her wand. She seemed to have calmed significantly during the time it took them to walk from his room to the bathroom, her voice was much softer, and her eyes weren't burning with anger anymore.</p>
<p>"Even if Theo's actions made you angry, you should trust me Draco. I told you I wanted you, I like you. Not Theo. If it makes you feel better, I'll make sure next time he sits with me that he'll sit across from me not beside. Okay?"</p>
<p>He grunted in acknowledgement, but didn't say anything out loud. She'd wiped the last of the blood from his neck and leaned down to place a hot kiss over his Adam's apple where she was cleaning moments earlier. He groaned low in his throat when she nipped playfully with her teeth over the same spot.</p>
<p>"Don't think for even a moment that I'm any less mad at you for potions class just because I'm not yelling at you right now. We will be returning to that later.</p>
<p>"Well then, until later..." he grinned suggestively, grabbing her hips in his hands and pulling her farther up his lap until their chests were pressed together.</p>
<p>"No way mister," she said sternly, but she failed to keep the smile off her face. Hermione wriggled herself away from his chest and back down his legs until she was perched on his knees again. She grabbed one of his hands off of her hip and shook her head with a frown, reprimanding him playfully "less than 24 hours as my secret boyfriend and you've managed to soil a pair of my knickers and get blood on my favourite uniform." Flashing him a sly smirk, she turned her attention to examining the bruises and cuts that decorated his knuckles.</p>
<p>He averted his eyes from her face and chose to watch her hands as she cleaned the blood from his skin. He hissed quietly when she wiped over a particularly deep split.</p>
<p>To distract himself, Draco let his eyes wander over her body. Her legs were bare, and he remembered from earlier today how soft her skin had felt under his fingertips. He followed the line of delicate muscle up her calf, over her knee and up to the hem of her skirt. She was straddling his knees, so her skirt had ridden up several inches and he could see the slightest hint of white knickers underneath.</p>
<p>Draco absentmindedly noticed as Granger -<em>Hermione </em>he corrected, he was finding the switch from surname to first name oddly difficult<em>-</em>finished cleaning his right hand and moved onto his left. He did notice when she twisted her body slightly to see better in the light of the bathroom, that the buttons of her blouse strained slightly over her chest. The fabric was thin, and he could see the outline of the lace on her bra transfer through. When she leaned forward, the tops of her breasts became visible from the angle, her cleavage on full view for a few moments before she sat upright again.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Hermione spent the time it took to clean his hands -the muggle way because if it hurt a little bit, then he'd maybe be less likely to do it again- to reflect on her current situation. If anyone had told her a month ago that she, Hermione Granger, would be skipping class for the second time in as many days because she'd had to change her panties thanks to her secret Slytherin boyfriend jealously fingering her under the potions desk and was now tending to said jealous boyfriend's wounds from when he beat up the object of his jealousy; well she probably would have had them committed to St. Mungo's when she'd finally stopped laughing.</p>
<p>Once she'd managed to fully clean and heal all of his wounds from attacking Theo, Hermione felt Draco wrap his arms possessively around her waist to once again pull her body closer to his. Suppressing a groan of frustration when he leaned his head down to nip at her ear, she reluctantly released herself from his hold and climbed off of his lap.</p>
<p>"There most certainly is no time for that now, we've both already missed DADA because of your earlier shenanigans, but we still have to go to Ancient runes. And we're leaving now while everyone else is still in class, so it doesn't look odd that we walk together." She put on her most stern expression -one she usually reserved for when Harry would pull his <em>Chosen One </em>sacrificial lamb bullshit - and put her hands on her hips, conveying wordlessly that the decision was not up for discussion.</p>
<p>She heard him mumble something under his breath that sounded remarkably like "bloody fucking swot" as he walked past her out of the bathroom to gather his robes and book bag, pout firmly in place. She quickly slipped into her room to change her still damp underwear for a fresh pair and take another potion before rejoining him at the exit.</p>
<p>"Oh, will you stop with the pouting already, I've had enough of it to last me at least a week you drama queen" She rolled her eyes at his back, walking up behind him and intertwining their hands together. "Who knows," she continued with a suggestive smirk in his direction "maybe by the end of classes today I'll have forgiven you for leaving me nine kinds of hot and bothered in Potions this morning."</p>
<p>Hermione watched amusedly as his mood brightened significantly when she sent him a wink. With a newfound bounce in his step and a devious plan brewing in her head, the two headed off to their final class of the day -and the week- hand in hand down the empty corridors.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0017"><h2>17. Desideratum</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Despite her earlier insinuations to coerce Draco to Ancient Runes in the afternoon, the two of them only had only been on the sofa in their little common room for an hour before Hermione made to retire to her room, alone. She still had plans for him that did not include inviting him into her bed tonight.</p>
<p>Slightly unsteady from the bottle of firewhiskey the two had shared, she pulled Draco's hand out from under her blouse, an amused smile forming on her lips when he pouted against her mouth.</p>
<p>"Oh tuck that look away for someone who will fall for it" she coo'ed patronizingly, pushing his lip back in with her finger. "I have some homework and brewing to catch up on tonight if you want me to watch you play tomorrow." He unwound his hand from around her waist, letting her up off of his lap but the petulant look on his face remained.</p>
<p>"But you brewed your potion the day before yesterday, even if your tolerance is increasing you can't have possibly used it already" he complained with a slightly distracted look, obviously doing calculations in his head about the doses in a batch.</p>
<p>"How do you know when I brewed it last?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him. She grabbed her wand from where it had gotten wedged between the couch cushions and tucked it into her sleeve.</p>
<p>"I'm observant" he replied casually, relaxing back into the couch and taking a sip from his glass. "I still don't know why you brew it yourself instead of just buying it like a normal person or asking Madam Pomfrey."</p>
<p>"Because," she snapped "last time I requested a refill prescription from St. Mungo's they called me an addict and gave me brochures for fucking rehab, and I'm sure the healers have forwarded my file to Hogwarts already so Pomfrey knows as much."</p>
<p>"I mean they're not wrong" he replied, rolling his eyes at her when her hair started sparking in anger. "Relax love, I'm not exactly one to be lecturing on substance abuse issues" he gestured with his glass of firewhiskey to emphasize his point. "Either way, there's still no way you've managed to use up the entire batch already regardless of why you make it yourself."</p>
<p>"I just want to brew some extra in advance" she acquiesced, "you know because I'm going to the game tomorrow, and we have that prefect meeting on Sunday morning, not to mention Ginny is forcing me into a study night tomorrow to start our N.E.W.T prep." He started pouting again at her words.</p>
<p>"You mean I don't get you all to myself again until Sunday night?" she hummed in confirmation to his question, tilting her head to the side thoughtfully, she hadn't realized that fact until right now.</p>
<p>"I'm sure you'll be able to manage for a few more days, absence makes the heart grow fonder and all that" she winked at him playfully turning to head to her room.</p>
<p>"Can't say the same for my cock." She heard him mutter to himself exasperatedly, which caused her to snicker quietly to herself once she was secluded inside the four walls of her bedroom.</p>
<p>Placing a locking spell on her door, she turned to the small brewing station she'd set up on her desk in the corner of her room. Though she'd been truthful in saying she was brewing tonight, Hermione was in fact not brewing more sine sensu potion, but something else entirely. Lighting the flames under the cauldron with a wave of her hand, she turned and opened one of the potions books she'd borrowed from an unknowing professor Slughorn -i<em>t's not stealing if you intend to return it</em>- and opened it to table of contents to find the recipe she had in mind.</p>
<p>When she flipped to the page she was looking for, a devious smile played at her lips when she read the description of the potion.</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>
      <span class="u">Desideratum</span>
    </em>
    <span class="u">– <em>Object of Lust</em></span>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Unlike amortentia, which is a love potion, and libidine which is a general libido enhancer; desideratum is specifically tailored to the individual consuming the potion. While still inducing feelings of enhanced physical arousal, the arousal will be specific to the individual whom a piece of their physical body -a hair with the follicle attached is recommended for best results- is added to the finished brew.</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>It is important to note that this brew is ineffectual unless both the recipient and the object of the induced lust, possess physical attraction to one another prior to ingestion.</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p>
  <b>
    <em>Ingredients and instructions are presented below, it is suggested this potion be brewed during the night time for optimal results.</em>
  </b>
</p>
<p><em>Oh Draco has no idea what he's gotten himself into </em>she thought to herself gleefully. He likely had assumed that she's forgiven him for the stunt he pulled this morning, but he's quite wrong about that. What Draco -well nobody actually- knows about her is that despite her being a lion at heart, there had been a very heated discussion between herself and the sorting hat when she was eleven; during which it considered putting her in Slytherin house and she had threatened to feed it to the giant squid if it put her in the -as she'd called it back then- evil house or anything other than Gryffindor.</p>
<p>Over the years she's come to terms with the fact that though she wore her red and gold with pride, she occasionally sported some Slytherin scales.</p>
<p>She set about starting the brew, throwing some ingredients into the cauldron and humming the sorting hat song softly as she worked, mentally concocting a plan as to how she was going to get him to drink it.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Draco woke in the morning to the mouth-watering smell of bacon and coffee. When he was fully awake, he laid in his bed for a few minutes simply listening to the sounds of his witch bustling around the apartment, singing along to a song on the radio. Rising to his feet, he didn't bother changing from his joggers or to put on a shirt before he followed the smell of food and the sound of her voice into the kitchen. He was pleased to see that she too was scantily clad in a pair of tight shorts and an overly large, black long sleeved shirt.</p>
<p>Sneaking up behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist and bent his head down to place a kiss on the sensitive skin of her neck just below her jaw, sucking just enough to leave a small red mark, but not enough to bruise. She leaned back into his embrace, spatula still in hand as she waited to flip the eggs she was cooking on the stove. She twisted in his embrace to face him, snaking her arms up around his neck and kissing him properly.</p>
<p>Draco groaned audibly when his tongue roamed into her open mouth and met hers. She already tasted wonderfully like pine and honey, though the tequila was absent this morning. The lovely combination of sweetness with the bitter pine reminded him of when his mother would make juniper tarts from the berries he would collect off the bushes in their gardens as a child.</p>
<p>All too soon, Hermione was pulling away from their embrace, turning her attention back to not burning their breakfast. He refilled her teacup and poured himself a mug of the coffee she'd brewed for him before he took a seat on one of the stools at their small countertop island.</p>
<p>"Not that I'm complaining," he said over the rim of his coffee cup, "but is there a special reason we're having breakfast here instead of in the Great Hall this morning?" She walked past him and into the small living room to sit on one of the sofas, levitating her tea and both of their breakfast trays behind her. He followed and sat on the same sofa, his back against the armrest so he could face her while they ate their breakfast.</p>
<p>"Because," she explained, smothering her muffin in some of the orange marmalade on her tray. He noticed pleasantly that his marmelade was not orange, but rather green apple. "You said yourself we won't have any alone time until tomorrow night, so I told Ginny that I wanted to spend the morning responding to letters before I have to go to the game with her."</p>
<p>"Weaslette is coming to the game?" He asked, surprised.</p>
<p>"Her name is Ginny, Draco. But yes, she insists on dragging me to all the games to 'scope out the competition'." The last part of her statement was accompanied by an exaggerated roll of her eyes before she picked up her tea and sipped.</p>
<p>"Regardless of what I call her, she can scope all she wants but you lions don't stand a chance for the quidditch cup this year." He assured her, taking a bite of his eggs.</p>
<p>"I couldn't care less who wins the cup if I'm being honest, I still think quidditch is unreasonably dangerous, not to mention bloody boring" he was on the receiving end of her eye roll this time. He glared at her quite seriously.</p>
<p>"Well that is just blasphemous, you watch your mouth or I'll <em>scourgify </em>it for you." He threatened her, aiming his fork at her as though it were a wand to demonstrate. She just snorted at him and the two continued to eat their breakfasts, exchanging conversation occasionally but often lapsing into comfortable silences, content to simply sit in each other's company.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Hermione watched in satisfaction as Draco ate his breakfast, she'd cooked the potion into his apple marmalade with a modified stasis charm to delay its effects until the perfect time. She hid her victorious grin behind her teacup when he thanked her for breakfast and sent their dishes into the sink to be washed with a wave of his wand.</p>
<p>When he walked back out of his room after changing into his quidditch uniform, Hermione was still sitting on the sofa, now reading from her transfiguration book.</p>
<p>"Reading about Animagi, hm? I bet if you were to be one, you'd be a kitten." He whispered in her ear, she jumped when his hot breath washed over the back of her neck. She hadn't even noticed him reading over her shoulder.</p>
<p>"Merlin you scared me!" she exclaimed, pressing a hand over her heart to steady its rapid beat. He raised his hands in apology, winking at her mischievously. "What makes you think I'd be a kitten?" She asked haughtily, setting her book in her lap to cross her arms over her chest.</p>
<p>"Because you're small and quite cute, not to mention you actually purr sometimes." He answered, coming around the back of the couch to lean on the wall in front of her. <em>Oh he looks quite fit </em>she thought to herself, momentarily distracted by the way the green and black of his robes brought out the silver in his eyes, and the cut of the robes accentuated his lithe seeker build. He cleared his throat loudly, bringing her out of her thoughts as he raised an eyebrow at her knowingly.</p>
<p>"I do not purr!" she stated indignantly, just now realizing what exactly he'd said.</p>
<p>"Oh yes you do," he laughed. "When I bite or suck on that spot right above your collar bone on your neck, you do this lovely little purring thing in your chest that is quite possibly my favourite sound in the whole world." He told her, a light tone in his voice, but the heated way his eyes were swirling pools of silver gave away his excitement.</p>
<p>Hermione felt her cheeks burn at his words, and she was quite certain her face resembled a tomato. She coughed to try and dislodge the lump that had formed in her throat.</p>
<p>"Anyways," she said before he could continue any more "you should probably head down to your team, <em>captain</em>." She got up from the couch and walked over to him, running her hands up his chest and around to the back of his head so her fingers could thread through his white-blonde hair. She stood up on her tiptoes and brought his head down to meet her lips, kissing him hotly as she pressed her body up against those lovely green robes. He moaned into her mouth when she bit down on his lip slightly, and Hermione wondered if perhaps she hadn't used enough of a stasis charm and the potion was already working.</p>
<p>Hoping that his reaction was entirely his, she broke their kiss and looked up at him with a smile. His lips were more pink than usual and the bottom one was the tiniest bit swollen. His hair was mussed from her fingers so she attempted to fix the damage she'd done by smoothing it down a few times.</p>
<p>"If you're going to react like this all the time" he said with a smirk, "I think I might start wearing my quidditch robes more often, maybe I'll even start sleeping in them." He threw her a flirtatious wink when she laughed.</p>
<p>"Go on," she said, giving him a shove towards the door. "Good luck! And don't fall off your broom!"</p>
<p>She heard him scoff indignantly at her words as he walked out the exit and into the hall.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>The game had been playing for well over an hour when it started. Draco wasn't entirely sure was <em>it </em>was but he knew he didn't like it. At first the feeling wasn't so bad, it was just like a small itch on top of his skin, as though he'd put on a scratchy sweater. The longer the game went on, the worse it got.</p>
<p>By the time Draco managed to catch the snitch and win the game for Slytherin, his skin felt like it was on fire. Not to mention that at some point he'd caught a glimpse of Grang- <em>Hermione </em>in the crowd and had immediately grown hard like some 13-year-old boy. By the time he landed his broom, the tightness in his trousers was uncomfortable to the point of pain. His entire body was screaming with need, need for the curly-haired witch. He felt like he'd been edged for hours, and his body and his mind craved the release she could give him.</p>
<p>He caught her gaze from across the field as he cagily avoided his teammates' congratulations, the thought of anyone else touching him making his skin crawl. She smirked at him knowingly. He growled audibly as he headed in her direction, but his growl turned to a low whine when she winked, and his cock twitched in its confines.</p>
<p>Before she could say anything when he'd approached her, he wrapped one hand around her bicep and the other over her mouth. The feel of her skin against his made the burning a thousand times hotter anywhere their bodies touched but simultaneously sated some of the need burning inside him. He dragged her away from the crows and into the change rooms, shoving her roughly into the lockers lining the wall. He felt half-mad as his desire to fuck her into the ground battled with his impulse to curse her.</p>
<p>"You crazy fucking witch," He growled, releasing his hold on her mouth to instead use that hand to fist her curls in his hand and wrench her head back to look up at him. "you drugged me with something didn't you?"</p>
<p>"If I did, you deserved it" she replied arrogantly, her eyes twinkling with amusement and mischief. The lack of fear in her face only enraged him further.</p>
<p>"You're going to fucking pay for it." He threatened her, his voice low and menacing.</p>
<p>"What are you going to do? Hit me? Do it Draco" Her eyes were challenging as she lifted her chin in defiance. Something primal inside him longed to put her in her place, show her who was truly in charge. She lifted both of her hands and shoved roughly against his chest, taking him by surprise as he stumbled a few steps away from her.</p>
<p>"I bet you'd fucking like it wouldn't you?" He growled, advancing back towards her as she did the same, the two met in the middle until they were so close, he could see the way her eyes were glowing gold around the edges.</p>
<p>"Only one way to find out" she was challenging him, he knew that. Forcing him to either assert his dominance or admit defeat. He narrowed his eyes at her, it almost looked like she <em>wanted </em>him to lash out at her. She raised an eyebrow when he didn't react. "What's wrong baby? Is the big bad death eater scared to hit the itty-bitty <em>kitten</em>?" She taunted him, tilting her head mockingly. "Are you scared Draco? Go on, do it. Hit me." She tapped her cheek with her index finger as she took another step towards him; she was in arms reach now. "Maybe you're too weak, is that it? I've hit you a few times, then again I've always been stronger than y-"her words were cut off as her head snapped to the side, a pink handprint blooming over her cheek.</p>
<p>She slowly turned her head back to him, a large wicked grin growing on her lips. She brought her hand up to rest over the now-raised handprint on her face. There was no hint of chocolate left in her eyes anymore, they glowed a gold shinier than any galleon he'd ever seen.</p>
<p>"Is that what you fucking wanted?" He growled, closing the space between them as he brought his hand up to wrap around her throat and drag her to him until their chests were pressing.</p>
<p>"I guess you're not as much of a pussy as I thought you were" she rasped, her voice struggling to come out as the hold he had on her neck tightened.</p>
<p>Something inside of him snapped, whether it was whatever she'd given him or the way she kept challenging him; he didn't know or have the capacity to care at the moment. Still holding her by the neck, Draco pushed Hermione backwards through the changeroom until they were both inside one of the shower stalls. He shoved her roughly against the wall directly under the shower head, turning on the water so that it poured over her face and down her fully clothed body.</p>
<p>He brought his body against hers, not caring that his robes were getting soaked in the process. She let out a wanton moan when his mouth met hers, his tongue forcing its way between her lips as he ground his hips against her. With a whispered spell, he vanished his clothes off of his body. Before he could do the same to her, he heard a voice call his name. He immediately released Hermione from where he had her pressed against the wall and let her slide down until she was kneeling behind the waist-high divider that separated the showers from the rest of the locker room. He groaned aloud and turned to the entrance where his friend was walking in.</p>
<p>"What the fuck do you want Nott?" He snapped, much more harshly than necessary.</p>
<p>"Sorry mate didn't realize you were coming in here to shower, figured you'd do that in your dorm."</p>
<p>"I'm- avoiding Granger" he offered, casting a quick glance down to the witch kneeling in front of him. She was looking up at him with the most unsettling look in her eyes, and alarm bells started to go off in Draco's head. He turned his attention back to his friend, who was studying him curiously.</p>
<p>"Well I was just coming to tell you that we're having a victory party in the common room tonight, but the team is all going down into Hogsmeade to pick up provisions in about an hour if you want to come with." Nott said, his attention seemingly distracted as he spoke.</p>
<p>Draco hissed slightly when he felt a hand wrap around his still-hard cock. Glaring down at her quickly, he watched as the witch laved her tongue across the underside of him before taking his head into her mouth. Fisting her hair in one hand to still her ministrations and bracing himself on the wall with the other, he turned back to Nott, attempting to distract himself from the wonderfully torturous things she was doing.</p>
<p>"Y-yeah sure, I'll meet you at-"his voice broke suddenly when she hollowed her cheeks at the same time that she slipped her other hand down to fondle his balls. He covered it with the most convincing cough he could muster "in the dungeons."</p>
<p>"Sounds good Mate" Nott chirped cheerfully, a wide grin on his face. Without another word, his friend turned on his heel and exited the locker room. Once again alone, he turned his gaze down to the floor so he could glare at the devious little witch on her knees. She released him from her mouth with a loud pop as she tilted her head up to smile at him innocently.</p>
<p>"Oh no love," he told her, tightening his hand in her hair once again. "I'm almost there, you're going to finish what you started."</p>
<p>"Hmm," her smile twisted into something much less wholesome as she forced her way to her feet. "I don't think so, if I did that then I wouldn't be properly getting revenge for what you did in potions yesterday, would I? I mean if orgasms are only for good witches, I can only assume that that rule applies to wizards as well." She smiled at him triumphantly before she walked out of the shower stall and completely out of the locker rooms, still dripping wet.</p>
<p>With a defeated groan, Draco let his forehead thud against the tile wall of the shower and let out a frustrated breath before he turned his shower to icy cold in hopes to return some of his blood to his head.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I feel that it's my responsibility to discuss that the relationship that Hermione and Draco have is not necessarily good. They both have problems and flaws, and a lot of things that happen between them or have happened are not things for people to be modeling their relationships on. I know a lot of my readers are younger so I want to ask you all, please keep in mind that this is not a fairy-tale fic where everything that happens is how it should be between two people in a relationship. These characters are hurt, broken, jagged from their experiences and a lot of the time they take it out on each other. It's fictional, please don't let it be an example for your romantic lives.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0018"><h2>18. Consilio</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There was not enough alcohol, nicotine or potions on the planet to make the prefect's meeting on Sunday morning less painful. They'd all finally managed to agree on a theme for the upcoming Halloween dance -masquerade, because that's not cliché at all- and had moved on to bickering about everything else. The prefects couldn't manage to unanimously agree on anything; not the entertainment, colour scheme, decorations. Nothing.</p>
<p>It brought Hermione a small amount of comfort that her exasperation and desire to be anywhere other than this meeting was reflected on Draco's face. He looked like he wanted to be there even less than she did. His face had been permanently set in a scowl from the moment the first prefect had arrived.</p>
<p>"I will not allow you to decorate the entire hall like a fucking Gryffindor hall of fame!" The shrill screech belonged to a very irate Pansy Parkinson, who was yelling at some poor sixth year Gryffindor prefect.</p>
<p>"What about purple?" That voice belonged to Hannah Abbot. Evidently, the majority of the arguing was coming from the female half of the room's population, while the male half wore a variety of expressions from bored to entertained to uncomfortable. Pansy started yelling again.</p>
<p>Hermione took a deep breath that escaped her mouth as a loud sigh, which earned her an amused look from the Head Boy. He was clearly content to let the argument continue, so long as he didn't have to participate. <em>Bastard, make me deal with this on my own</em>. She glared at him momentarily, he shrugged, unbothered. It was clear somebody had to interrupt this argument, Pansy looked ready to throw a hex at the next person who disagreed with her.</p>
<p>"How about," she interrupted, raising both hands to draw everyone's attention. "We just stick with a fall theme, so we can have all kinds of oranges and browns and burgundies? Then you can all go crazy with carved pumpkins and what-not."</p>
<p>Slowly, everyone around the room started to nod in agreement. Even Pansy looked mostly placated with her suggestion. Quickly, before the animosity could return to the atmosphere, Hermione herded the prefects through the rest of the decisions that needed to be made; mitigating the discussions and at one point disarming Pansy when she pulled her wand on Anthony Goldstein after he told her she should 'be happy with anything because there's not many dances in Azkaban' -though she considered hexing him herself for acting like a prat even if it was Pansy-.</p>
<p>It was safe to say that by the time lunch rolled around and the group finally started to leave the Head's dorm, Hermione was ready to thank Godric, Merlin, Circe, Morgana and even Salazar that they didn't have to hold another meeting until after the dance. Most of the prefects had already left when she looked up from the paper she had been jotting notes down on, though most of the paper was just covered in small ink drops she'd made when bored. The only people left in the dorm when she put her quill into her ink well were herself, Draco, Theo, and Ginny.</p>
<p>Draco was sitting on the leather two-person sofa they usually shared with his ankle propped up on his opposite knee, head back to stare at the ceiling. Theo was sprawled out on the ground, propped up on his elbows and giving her one of those Slytherin smirks that unsettled her wholly. Ginny was the only person standing in the room; she was leaning up against the mantle of the fireplace twirling her wand between her fingers and glancing between Hermione and Theo with a grin. Hermione herself was in her usual place for meetings, sitting cross legged on top of the small desk, observing everyone else in the room uneasily.</p>
<p>The atmosphere in the dorm room was uncomfortable, to say the least.</p>
<p>"Fancy a fly Malfoy?" Theo piped up from the floor, turning his attention from her to Draco as he spoke. Hermione took the opportunity to observe Ginny. She'd been meaning to check in on the red head more than she had been lately and she felt bad for having ditched her immediately after the game yesterday and then being late to their study group. Ginny had given her hell for it. Plus, now that she knew about the little <em>mind reading</em> issue, there really was no reason to try and avoid her. </p>
<p>"I could do with a few laps around the pitch, should we invite Zabini?" Draco raised his head to look at Theo when he answered.</p>
<p>"Nah don't bother, the tosser has been ditching me all the time since the first game. I mean-"Theo paused long enough to fake a theatric swoon. "between you holing up here all the time and Blaise running off to wherever he goes lately, I may just die lonely and friendless." Hermione balled up a piece of parchment and threw it at his face where it bounced off and rolled onto the floor.</p>
<p>"What about me? I thought we were friends?" She stuck her lip out in a pout. Both Theo and Draco snorted in amusement, Ginny's grin just grew even bigger as she kept looking pointedly between Theo and Hermione, before raising her eyebrow at the latter.</p>
<p>"Of course, darling" Theo simpered and then turned his attention back to Draco. "But seriously, don't bother with Zabini, I'm pretty sure he's seeing a new witch and just doesn't want to tell us."</p>
<p>"She's probably another Hufflepuff, he's always had a soft spot for the 'puffs for some reason." Draco drawled lazily, getting up from the sofa to grab his broom from where it was leaning against the wall.</p>
<p>If she hadn't already been looking at her friend, she wouldn't have caught it. But she was, and she did. In the split second when Draco said 'another'. Ginny's eyes flashed and then narrowed, and the corners of her mouth started to turn down before she schooled her expression to a neutrally pleasant look.</p>
<p>"Theo dear? Take Malfoy and get out already. You two gossip worse than Parvati and that's saying something." She smiled at him; her voice overly sweet. Draco gave her a nervous sideways glance, as though he was worried the tone was directed at him. It wasn't, it was all for her lovely red headed friend this time.</p>
<p>Theo saluted at her sarcastically and the two hurried out of the dorm, Draco casting a look at her over his shoulder before the door closed behind him. Once the sounds of the boys' voices had faded down the hallway, Hermione turned to her friend and pinned her with a suspicious glare.</p>
<p>"Sit."</p>
<p>"Actually," her friend hedged, eyes flickering towards the exit.</p>
<p>"Nope. Sit down or I will <em>incarcerous </em>you to the sofa." She threatened, aiming her wand at the girl threateningly.</p>
<p>She sat, shifting in her seat anxiously.</p>
<p>Hermione <em>accio'</em>d a pack of cigarettes and a potion from her room, her hands had started shaking a good fifteen minutes ago and she couldn't wait any longer. She unstoppered the vial with her teeth and downed it in one swallow. Once she'd vanished the empty bottle back into her trunk, she turned her attention back to Ginny as she lit one of the cigarettes and started an air freshening spell with a wave of her hand. Draco would bitch about the smell later if she didnt.</p>
<p>She imagined that to an outside observer, the two painted a hilarious scene; Hermione sitting cross legged on top of the small desk smoking with a stern look on her face, and Ginny sitting in front of her in the cushy chaise with her arms crossed petulantly.</p>
<p>"So," Hermione started, doing her very best to mimic Draco and Theo's Slytherin smirk -which by the look on Gin's face, she was succeeding- "How long have you fancied Zabini? Was it before or after you hooked up with him?" Ginny choked on air, clearly what she said had not been what she'd expected to be interrogated for. <em>Hmm</em>.</p>
<p>"I do not fancy Blaise!" she exclaimed once she'd managed to stop her coughing fit.</p>
<p>"But you called him Blaise and not Zabini, and you got upset at Dr-Malfoy's Hufflepuff comment" Hermione pointed out.</p>
<p>"I don't fancy him. Maybe I just feel bad for the poor innocent Hufflepuff's he's targeting." Ginny's face was flaming as red as her hair, she wondered if it was from her temper or from embarrassment.</p>
<p>"It's fine if you do, fancy him that is." She responded calmly. It was the truth, Hermione herself was involved with a Slytherin with a far more villainous reputation than Zabini and she wasn't about to go being hypocritical about Ginny and Blaise.</p>
<p>"I don't though." She stated, much less agitated than she had been a moment ago. "You know if I did 'Mione you'd be the first person I would tell. Plus," she added with a wry grin -that looked oddly forced- "you know me and my revolving door of famous quidditch players, can't go messing with that for one little Slytherin."</p>
<p>"Ah yes," Hermione joked, ignoring the blatant conversation change the girl had attempted. "Do tell me about your latest beau of the month." Ginny's eyes shone at her words, her friend loved providing all the dirty details of her escapades, and while Hermione wasn't one to usually want to listen, she did every once in a while, because it made her friend smile, albeit the smile was an impish one.</p>
<p>"Oh, my Godric 'Mione let me tell you this guy knows how to use his tongue in ways I didn't even know..." she started her story, gesturing enthusiastically with her hands as she spoke. Hermione sat silently, a small smile on her lips as she half-listened.</p>
<p>--</p>
<p>Draco didn't want to go flying, all he wanted to do was wait until everyone else left the dorm so he could have some time alone with his dorm-mate slash supposed secret girlfriend whom he hadn't seen since she'd blue balled him in the change rooms the day before. Knowing she was wanting and willing made the pleasure he got from his own hand instead far less satisfying. </p>
<p>It had been weeks since he'd first started imagining what she looked like sprawled on his bed, what kind of sounds she would make for him, how she would taste as she squirmed under his tongue. He knew from their potions class tryst that she tasted better than any drug or liquor that he'd ever tried -and he'd tried a lot throughout the war and after- but he wondered now if she would taste different when she came for him for the first time.</p>
<p>Yet here he was, flying drills around the pitch with Nott instead of making up for lost time with his curly haired little minx and answering all of his questions.</p>
<p>"Oi Malfoy!" his friend yelled over the sound of the wind, interrupting his thoughts, he slowed his broom slightly and allowed the other boy to catch up and fly beside me.</p>
<p>"So, who do you reckon is the new witch Zabini's shagging?" he asked his curly haired friend. Nott was a good friend, but he was too perceptive and clever for one-on-one conversation to ever be comfortable. It often seemed to result in being forced to confront something he didn't want to, so it was best to occupy his attention with something else.</p>
<p>"Nope not going to work Malfoy." He responded, adjusting the laces on his gloves attentively. Draco just turned to him questioningly, a confused look on his face.</p>
<p>"Oh, don't play coy with me, we both know you're fucking Granger." Well of all the things he was expecting to come out of Nott's mouth, that wasn't one of them.</p>
<p>"I'm not." It wasn't a lie, he wasn't. Much to his frustration.</p>
<p>"Oh, so you beat the shit out of me in the halls the other day for what? Just hadn't punched anybody in a while? Fancied me a trip to the infirmary? I know you may believe otherwise but having my nose put back together is not my favourite of ways to get out of DADA." He wasn't angry, his voice didn't even hold much emotion other than a bit of humor. Nott was stating facts and he knew it. Draco was too stubborn to actually admit he was right though.</p>
<p>Instead, he opted to snort disbelievingly, followed by a heavy eye roll before he promptly flew away from where his friend was now hovering and left the quidditch pitch entirely. Consciously deciding to hide from Nott and his perceptive ways, rather than confront anything at the moment. As he headed back to the castle, he physically slammed every single one of his occlumency walls firmly in place; constructing each one out of heavy bricks before wrapping them with tall iron gates and wrapping them in devil's snare and venomous tentacula to keep everything and anything out -and in-.</p>
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